St. Louis Missouri : Home Help for the Aging Citizen

I-70 Corridor Network on Aging

the beautiful scenery of St Louis Missouri - in concern of aging and home maintenance and home improvement
The University of Kansas Gerontology Program Presents: “A Creative Aging Performance” by Kelly Zarifa

The University of Kansas’ Gerontology Program is sponsoring its Spring Speaker series lecture/performance, with co-sponsorship from the Departments of Psychology and Theatre, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and the Center for Research on Aging & Disability Options (CRADO).  On April 10th at 4:00 pm (KU’s Alumni Center), we will bring you “A Creative Aging Performance”, performed by Arts & AGEing KC.  The group will present an interactive theatre arts performance and visual arts exhibit. This event will highlight developments in the field of Creative Aging and its influence on physical and mental health. The group will present selections from Dancing With Crow’s Feet©, a play to be performed at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics World Congress (IAGG) in San Francisco, CA.

*A reception will be hosted after the performance, and parking is available*

KU: Building a home that helps residents stay healthy by Kelly Zarifa

What if your house could help keep you healthy?

That’s the notion that University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design & Planning Associate Professor Joe Colistra and his students will explore this semester through a couple of grants that aim to incorporate big data and sensing technology into the warp and woof of homes of the future.

While we are on the topic, let's make sure we can help aging citizens get the help they need around the home.  It's just not easy keeping up with all the tasks that add up over time. If you’re considering a project that involves poured concrete, it’s important to hire a company that understands this material and the techniques used to work with it. A professional concrete company will have the right equipment and personnel to get the job done right. They will also be familiar with the local building codes and regulations, ensuring your project is up to code.

When it comes to concrete services, safety is an important factor. A reputable concrete company will have the necessary safety equipment, such as hard hats, gloves, and protective eyewear, to protect their workers and your home.

If you’re looking for help with concrete work around your home, contact a professional concrete company today. They will provide you with the expertise, resources, and safety measures you need to get the job done correctly around the house.  We have some recommendations on who to go with around the St. Louis area.  Let's start with Concrete O'fallon. They are the best upfront concrete service we could find, and they serve a lot of areas besides just O'fallon.


In October, the American Institute of Architects awarded Colistra a $30,000 Upjohn Research Initiative grant. In December, Colistra received word that Mozilla’s Gigabit Community Fund had given him an additional $21,000 grant. He is pooling those grant funds to build a housing unit – or at least part of one – that will feature embedded sensors to collect residents’ biometric data, with the goal of monitoring their health. The project will be executed by fifth-year students in the school’s East Hills Design-Build Center.

“With Kansas City having Google Fiber, you ask yourself: What would you do with unlimited bandwidth? So we proceed to the question of big data collected through the built environment,” Colistra said. “What if your house could capture your heel strike, the number of times you left your apartment, the number of times you go to the bathroom, how much sleep you got last night? The idea with connectivity and the Internet of Things is to link all that data together.”

Colistra explained that the idea of a floor that could monitor heel strikes “can tell if someone has fallen, if there is a stutter in their step that is a precursor of Alzheimer’s disease. These are not your normal sensors, but ones sensitive enough to use predictive algorithms on. They would be most useful to seniors, so we are working with scientists, including Jessie Huisinga at the Landon Center on Aging2 at the (University of Kansas) Medical Center, who work on Alzheimer’s disease. They can already do gait analysis with a device like a Fitbit, but this would be in the background. You would not have to turn it on. The monitor would be in the floor. It’s an accelerometer, linked to GPS. There could be smart mirrors, smart toilets …”

It's important to keep your body stabilized, and as we age it's just not possible to do stuff like tree work.  If trees have fallen, then really there's nothing left to do but call someone for help.  In St. Louis, we recommend St Louis Tree Service.  If you live more in the suburbs, we would go with this tree service company in St. Charles.


Smart mirrors, he explained, look for changes in the skin – moles, lesions, the effects of stroke. Smart toilets monitor hydration and evacuation.

“We are looking at the possibility of taking hydration readings that might lead to adjusting your diuretic or heart medication on the fly,” Colistra said. “It could revolutionize geriatric medicine. Your housing unit could be like a medical device; it takes care of you.”

Colistra said the project will be done with an eye toward creating a smart house with prefabricated components (e.g., walls, floor panels) so that such items become economically viable if implemented on a large scale.

Colistra said the project will be completed by the end of the school year – with as many rooms as the funding will allow. The results will then be displayed at conferences, including Maker Faire Kansas City June 24-25 at Union Station.

“It grows out of the New Cities3 research initiative,” Colistra said. “The question there is, ‘How do we make lifelong neighborhoods?’ That includes daycare, jobs, walkable streets, and, for seniors, rehab clinics and doctors.”

Colistra said working with health insurance companies on creating such dwellings would be ideal. They might be motivated to do so with the idea of bringing down their own costs, he said.

“It’s a possible new way to make smart cities,” Colistra said. “We know all this stuff is coming. The question is how to build architecture to use it. It’s all existing technology. It just hasn’t been put together yet.”

Image: Diagram of senior living prototype unit, courtesy of Joe Colistra.
Inter-professional Education in Aging for Law and Healthcare Students by Kelly Zarifa

UMKC Logo

The UMKC health professions schools (Nursing and Health Studies, Dentistry, Medicine, and Pharmacy) along with the School of Law were recently awarded a national grant to work together to advocate for older adults.  This project team includes representatives from each of these schools, and involves three Consortium members:  Lyla Lindholm, Ann Marie Marciarille, and Joan McDowd.  The goal of the project is to promote empathy for older adults among student professionals who typically may not relate well to seniors.  Currently the team is developing a curriculum designed to get students comfortable with older adults, to listen to them, and to work together with other professions for the good of the older adult.  It is a 2-year project that will involve a total of 100 students, and is funded by the National Center for InterProfessional Education, the Josiah Macey Foundation, the Hartford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.  The goal of this project is to develop a model program for training professionals to work with older adults.  
Gerontology at UMSL by Kelly Zarifa

Students at the University of Missouri – St. Louis recently created a YouTube video describing the field of gerontology and promoting the undergraduate, certificate, and graduate gerontology programs at UMSL. Have a look!

TEDx Talk: Redefining our Expectations of Aging by Kelly Zarifa

Ann Fisher-Jackson, Director of Marketing at Keystone Technologies, recently presented for TEDx at North Central College about how a preventative model of care could be used to improve quality of life in our later years. Read below to learn more about Keystone Technologies, Ann Fisher-Jackson, and to view this inspiring and informative TEDx talk.

Keystone Technologies

Keystone Technologies is a leading health IT services and solutions company whose mission is to improve health outcomes through innovation with a vision of enabling and empowering every person to control his or her own health. Keystone provides a broad array of cutting-edge health IT services and products, including: 1) IT infrastructure assessment, design, and installation, 2) regulatory and compliance consulting, 3) HIPAA-compliant cloud services, 4) managed services and support, and 5) health applications and solutions. Based in St. Louis, MO, Keystone Technologies brings years of experience and success to the health technology space.

We cannot stress how important it is not to climb on your roof if you are in old age.  It's dangerous and unsure footing due to the angle and textures has let to occasional disasters.  Please, if you are in the suburbs, try Roof St. Charles Roofing Company first.

Ann Fisher-Jackson

Ann joined Keystone Technologies in the summer of as the Director of Marketing. In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of the Keystone Technologies brand. She coordinates and manages all internal and external marketing and communications. Ann has spent her career marketing within the healthcare industry and feels a deep personal connection to improving the quality of life and quality of care for seniors. As such, her passions and values align directly with the mission of Keystone Technologies. Ann digs into Keystone’s technical world and is able to explain and easily communicate the innovative and complex services and products Keystone Technologies provides. Ann has a Masters in Public Administration from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor Degree in Political Science and Communication from North Central College. Ann is on the Board of Directors for Lupus Foundation of America, Heartland Chapter. She is happily married to her husband, Aaron, and is the proud mother of her daughter, Althea.

KU Department of Architecture Health and Wellness: Joint Design Studio Project by Kelly Zarifa

If you want the best house cleaning service in St. Louis, check out Lexi Maids. They are fast, friendly and offer great pricing.  Never forget to take care of yourself or loved ones with a great sparkling clean house!


LAWRENCE — During the spring semester, Assistant Professor of Architecture Hui Cai of the Department of Architecture’s Health and Wellness program organized a joint design studio with the School of Architecture at Nanjing Tech, China. That led to an agreement that paves the way for future collaboration.

The success of the class, which brought KU and NJ Tech students together to design an intergenerational community, led to the signing of a Technical, Cultural, Educational and Scientific Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between the two schools. Under it they agree to continue to collaborate on joint research, study and educational activities, and to exchange scholars, faculty and students.

“The signing of this memorandum is one of the many ways our school is fulfilling our vision, to be a force for regional and global urbanism through design,” said Dean Mahesh Daas.

“The joint studio has established the foundation for a series of international collaborations between KU and Chinese universities,” Cai said. “And because of it, our students are more prepared for the opportunities that are present for health care designers in the global market.”

Many people have second home, winter homes, or family in different states or cities.  Please let us recommend some well known helpers in these areas:

Racine Trees Wisconsin is an amazing resource for those needing tree service work. They offer a wide range of services that can help with any and all of your tree care needs. Whether you need to trim branches, remove a tree, or even just do some basic maintenance, Racine Trees Wisconsin has you covered. Their team of certified tree experts are knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to go above and beyond to make sure your tree is in the best condition possible. They are always eager to help, and their prices are very competitive. From pruning to stump grinding to tree removal, you can count on Racine Trees Wisconsin to get the job done right.

Likewise, if you are in the Charleston South Carolina area, like Mount Pleasant... they  offer a variety of other services, such as tree planting and soil management. With Mount Pleasant Trees in South Carolina, you can be sure that your tree is being taken care of in the best way possible. Their dedication to customer satisfac


tion is unmatched, and they always strive to provide the best service possible. They are the perfect choice for any tree service needs.


The first activity under the new memorandum is another joint studio on rural health care design that is taking place on campus through May 4.

Last year’s studio was led by Cai, Professor of Architecture Kent Spreckelmeyer and Associate Professors Zhichang Cai and Yao Fang from Nanjing Tech. Associate Professor Emeritus Dennis Domer and Dennis Cope, co-chair of the American Institute of Architects Design for Aging Knowledge Community, served as their external advisers.

It was recently announced that two of projects produced by the students during this initial studio won a third place and an honorable mention in the Chinese National Competition on International Joint Studio Design Projects. The project was the master planning of an intergenerational community near Rock Chalk Park and the result of collaboration with architecture students Ryan Falk, Holton; Justin Gomez, St. Peters, Missouri, and James McLarty, Eureka, Missouri.

“These design awards are evidence of our schools’ success in promoting design excellence through cross-cultural knowledge exchange and communication,” Cai said.

“Stacked Garden Intergenerational Community for Senior Living, Health and Wellness, Rehab,” designed by Xiaohan Chen, won third place in Chinese National Competition on International Joint Studio Design Projects out of 250 entries.

Mo Liang and Xing Ji’s “Rooftop Hiking: Intergenerational Community for Senior Living, Health and Wellness, Rehab” won an honorable mention in the same competition.

To see the projects visit https://kudesignhealthwellness.wordpress.com
Grandma by i70admin

-------------

If you need to get permenant steps, stairs, wheelchair ramps, driveways, sidewalks installed to help with an elderly person near the Gulf of Mexico, check out this Tallahassee Florida Concrete Service.

Grandma’s adoration for her grandkid’s was obvious to the world. She was always your biggest fan. I remember my baseball games growing up. I tried so hard to be “cool” and “tough” at the plate, but admittedly that’s hard to do when Grandma is screaming “GO DREW!”; I pretended not to notice of course, but I secretly loved the cheers. I also remember how the other players on the team liked it so much that they wanted her to call out their numbers, and of course she did. She seemed to make every event that any of us were involved in, and she was always the first person I looked for in the crowd.

I remember most how she marveled at every little thing I did, no matter how trivial, and how much confidence that gave me. Grandma has always been supportive. I could always talk to Grandma about anything. She and I would have long conversations about stuff I was uncomfortable talking to anyone else about. I always came away with a clear vision and reassured when our talks were over. She had a way of challenging you with what you already knew and making you take action on it. She even played a big role in my asking my wife Marci to marry me (thank you Grandma). She loved Marci almost as much as I do.

I was blessed to have Grandma in my life, as was every person she touched. She was a constant source of joy, support and love. Her guidance and influence have shaped my foundation, and I will carry her wisdom and love with me always. I am fortunate to have had her play such a large role in my life, and I am proud to be her grandson.

As I continue to celebrate the life of this amazing woman, I keep this in mind. The best way to carry on the legacy that Grandma has left behind…the best way to celebrate the life of Martha Waller… is love those around you so much that they never can forget.

—Andy Belval
The University of Kansas Gerontology Program Presents: “A Creative Aging Performance” by Kelly Zarifa

The University of Kansas’ Gerontology Program is sponsoring its Spring Speaker series lecture/performance, with co-sponsorship from the Departments of Psychology and Theatre, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, and the Center for Research on Aging & Disability Options (CRADO).  On April 10th at 4:00 pm (KU’s Alumni Center), we will bring you “A Creative Aging Performance”, performed by Arts & AGEing KC.  The group will present an interactive theatre arts performance and visual arts exhibit. This event will highlight developments in the field of Creative Aging and its influence on physical and mental health. The group will present selections from Dancing With Crow’s Feet©, a play to be performed at the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics World Congress (IAGG) in San Francisco, CA.

*A reception will be hosted after the performance, and parking is available*

KU: Building a home that helps residents stay healthy by Kelly Zarifa

What if your house could help keep you healthy?

That’s the notion that University of Kansas School of Architecture, Design & Planning Associate Professor Joe Colistra and his students will explore this semester through a couple of grants that aim to incorporate big data and sensing technology into the warp and woof of homes of the future.

While we are on the topic, let's make sure we can help aging citizens get the help they need around the home.  It's just not easy keeping up with all the tasks that add up over time. If you’re considering a project that involves poured concrete, it’s important to hire a company that understands this material and the techniques used to work with it. A professional concrete company will have the right equipment and personnel to get the job done right. They will also be familiar with the local building codes and regulations, ensuring your project is up to code.

When it comes to concrete services, safety is an important factor. A reputable concrete company will have the necessary safety equipment, such as hard hats, gloves, and protective eyewear, to protect their workers and your home.

If you’re looking for help with concrete work around your home, contact a professional concrete company today. They will provide you with the expertise, resources, and safety measures you need to get the job done correctly around the house.  We have some recommendations on who to go with around the St. Louis area.  Let's start with Concrete O'fallon. They are the best upfront concrete service we could find, and they serve a lot of areas besides just O'fallon.


In October, the American Institute of Architects awarded Colistra a $30,000 Upjohn Research Initiative grant. In December, Colistra received word that Mozilla’s Gigabit Community Fund had given him an additional $21,000 grant. He is pooling those grant funds to build a housing unit – or at least part of one – that will feature embedded sensors to collect residents’ biometric data, with the goal of monitoring their health. The project will be executed by fifth-year students in the school’s East Hills Design-Build Center.

“With Kansas City having Google Fiber, you ask yourself: What would you do with unlimited bandwidth? So we proceed to the question of big data collected through the built environment,” Colistra said. “What if your house could capture your heel strike, the number of times you left your apartment, the number of times you go to the bathroom, how much sleep you got last night? The idea with connectivity and the Internet of Things is to link all that data together.”

Colistra explained that the idea of a floor that could monitor heel strikes “can tell if someone has fallen, if there is a stutter in their step that is a precursor of Alzheimer’s disease. These are not your normal sensors, but ones sensitive enough to use predictive algorithms on. They would be most useful to seniors, so we are working with scientists, including Jessie Huisinga at the Landon Center on Aging2 at the (University of Kansas) Medical Center, who work on Alzheimer’s disease. They can already do gait analysis with a device like a Fitbit, but this would be in the background. You would not have to turn it on. The monitor would be in the floor. It’s an accelerometer, linked to GPS. There could be smart mirrors, smart toilets …”

It's important to keep your body stabilized, and as we age it's just not possible to do stuff like tree work.  If trees have fallen, then really there's nothing left to do but call someone for help.  In St. Louis, we recommend St Louis Tree Service.  If you live more in the suburbs, we would go with this tree service company in St. Charles.


Smart mirrors, he explained, look for changes in the skin – moles, lesions, the effects of stroke. Smart toilets monitor hydration and evacuation.

“We are looking at the possibility of taking hydration readings that might lead to adjusting your diuretic or heart medication on the fly,” Colistra said. “It could revolutionize geriatric medicine. Your housing unit could be like a medical device; it takes care of you.”

Colistra said the project will be done with an eye toward creating a smart house with prefabricated components (e.g., walls, floor panels) so that such items become economically viable if implemented on a large scale.

Colistra said the project will be completed by the end of the school year – with as many rooms as the funding will allow. The results will then be displayed at conferences, including Maker Faire Kansas City June 24-25 at Union Station.

“It grows out of the New Cities3 research initiative,” Colistra said. “The question there is, ‘How do we make lifelong neighborhoods?’ That includes daycare, jobs, walkable streets, and, for seniors, rehab clinics and doctors.”

Colistra said working with health insurance companies on creating such dwellings would be ideal. They might be motivated to do so with the idea of bringing down their own costs, he said.

“It’s a possible new way to make smart cities,” Colistra said. “We know all this stuff is coming. The question is how to build architecture to use it. It’s all existing technology. It just hasn’t been put together yet.”

Image: Diagram of senior living prototype unit, courtesy of Joe Colistra.
Inter-professional Education in Aging for Law and Healthcare Students by Kelly Zarifa

UMKC Logo

The UMKC health professions schools (Nursing and Health Studies, Dentistry, Medicine, and Pharmacy) along with the School of Law were recently awarded a national grant to work together to advocate for older adults.  This project team includes representatives from each of these schools, and involves three Consortium members:  Lyla Lindholm, Ann Marie Marciarille, and Joan McDowd.  The goal of the project is to promote empathy for older adults among student professionals who typically may not relate well to seniors.  Currently the team is developing a curriculum designed to get students comfortable with older adults, to listen to them, and to work together with other professions for the good of the older adult.  It is a 2-year project that will involve a total of 100 students, and is funded by the National Center for InterProfessional Education, the Josiah Macey Foundation, the Hartford Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.  The goal of this project is to develop a model program for training professionals to work with older adults.  
Gerontology at UMSL by Kelly Zarifa

Students at the University of Missouri – St. Louis recently created a YouTube video describing the field of gerontology and promoting the undergraduate, certificate, and graduate gerontology programs at UMSL. Have a look!

TEDx Talk: Redefining our Expectations of Aging by Kelly Zarifa

Ann Fisher-Jackson, Director of Marketing at Keystone Technologies, recently presented for TEDx at North Central College about how a preventative model of care could be used to improve quality of life in our later years. Read below to learn more about Keystone Technologies, Ann Fisher-Jackson, and to view this inspiring and informative TEDx talk.

Keystone Technologies

Keystone Technologies is a leading health IT services and solutions company whose mission is to improve health outcomes through innovation with a vision of enabling and empowering every person to control his or her own health. Keystone provides a broad array of cutting-edge health IT services and products, including: 1) IT infrastructure assessment, design, and installation, 2) regulatory and compliance consulting, 3) HIPAA-compliant cloud services, 4) managed services and support, and 5) health applications and solutions. Based in St. Louis, MO, Keystone Technologies brings years of experience and success to the health technology space.

We cannot stress how important it is not to climb on your roof if you are in old age.  It's dangerous and unsure footing due to the angle and textures has let to occasional disasters.  Please, if you are in the suburbs, try Roof St. Charles Roofing Company first.

Ann Fisher-Jackson

Ann joined Keystone Technologies in the summer of as the Director of Marketing. In this role, she is responsible for the development and implementation of the Keystone Technologies brand. She coordinates and manages all internal and external marketing and communications. Ann has spent her career marketing within the healthcare industry and feels a deep personal connection to improving the quality of life and quality of care for seniors. As such, her passions and values align directly with the mission of Keystone Technologies. Ann digs into Keystone’s technical world and is able to explain and easily communicate the innovative and complex services and products Keystone Technologies provides. Ann has a Masters in Public Administration from Saint Louis University and a Bachelor Degree in Political Science and Communication from North Central College. Ann is on the Board of Directors for Lupus Foundation of America, Heartland Chapter. She is happily married to her husband, Aaron, and is the proud mother of her daughter, Althea.

KU Department of Architecture Health and Wellness: Joint Design Studio Project by Kelly Zarifa

If you want the best house cleaning service in St. Louis, check out Lexi Maids. They are fast, friendly and offer great pricing.  Never forget to take care of yourself or loved ones with a great sparkling clean house!


LAWRENCE — During the spring semester, Assistant Professor of Architecture Hui Cai of the Department of Architecture’s Health and Wellness program organized a joint design studio with the School of Architecture at Nanjing Tech, China. That led to an agreement that paves the way for future collaboration.

The success of the class, which brought KU and NJ Tech students together to design an intergenerational community, led to the signing of a Technical, Cultural, Educational and Scientific Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding between the two schools. Under it they agree to continue to collaborate on joint research, study and educational activities, and to exchange scholars, faculty and students.

“The signing of this memorandum is one of the many ways our school is fulfilling our vision, to be a force for regional and global urbanism through design,” said Dean Mahesh Daas.

“The joint studio has established the foundation for a series of international collaborations between KU and Chinese universities,” Cai said. “And because of it, our students are more prepared for the opportunities that are present for health care designers in the global market.”

Many people have second home, winter homes, or family in different states or cities.  Please let us recommend some well known helpers in these areas:

Racine Trees Wisconsin is an amazing resource for those needing tree service work. They offer a wide range of services that can help with any and all of your tree care needs. Whether you need to trim branches, remove a tree, or even just do some basic maintenance, Racine Trees Wisconsin has you covered. Their team of certified tree experts are knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to go above and beyond to make sure your tree is in the best condition possible. They are always eager to help, and their prices are very competitive. From pruning to stump grinding to tree removal, you can count on Racine Trees Wisconsin to get the job done right.

Likewise, if you are in the Charleston South Carolina area, like Mount Pleasant... they  offer a variety of other services, such as tree planting and soil management. With Mount Pleasant Trees in South Carolina, you can be sure that your tree is being taken care of in the best way possible. Their dedication to customer satisfac


tion is unmatched, and they always strive to provide the best service possible. They are the perfect choice for any tree service needs.


The first activity under the new memorandum is another joint studio on rural health care design that is taking place on campus through May 4.

Last year’s studio was led by Cai, Professor of Architecture Kent Spreckelmeyer and Associate Professors Zhichang Cai and Yao Fang from Nanjing Tech. Associate Professor Emeritus Dennis Domer and Dennis Cope, co-chair of the American Institute of Architects Design for Aging Knowledge Community, served as their external advisers.

It was recently announced that two of projects produced by the students during this initial studio won a third place and an honorable mention in the Chinese National Competition on International Joint Studio Design Projects. The project was the master planning of an intergenerational community near Rock Chalk Park and the result of collaboration with architecture students Ryan Falk, Holton; Justin Gomez, St. Peters, Missouri, and James McLarty, Eureka, Missouri.

“These design awards are evidence of our schools’ success in promoting design excellence through cross-cultural knowledge exchange and communication,” Cai said.

“Stacked Garden Intergenerational Community for Senior Living, Health and Wellness, Rehab,” designed by Xiaohan Chen, won third place in Chinese National Competition on International Joint Studio Design Projects out of 250 entries.

Mo Liang and Xing Ji’s “Rooftop Hiking: Intergenerational Community for Senior Living, Health and Wellness, Rehab” won an honorable mention in the same competition.

To see the projects visit https://kudesignhealthwellness.wordpress.com
Grandma by i70admin

-------------

If you need to get permenant steps, stairs, wheelchair ramps, driveways, sidewalks installed to help with an elderly person near the Gulf of Mexico, check out this Tallahassee Florida Concrete Service.

Grandma’s adoration for her grandkid’s was obvious to the world. She was always your biggest fan. I remember my baseball games growing up. I tried so hard to be “cool” and “tough” at the plate, but admittedly that’s hard to do when Grandma is screaming “GO DREW!”; I pretended not to notice of course, but I secretly loved the cheers. I also remember how the other players on the team liked it so much that they wanted her to call out their numbers, and of course she did. She seemed to make every event that any of us were involved in, and she was always the first person I looked for in the crowd.

I remember most how she marveled at every little thing I did, no matter how trivial, and how much confidence that gave me. Grandma has always been supportive. I could always talk to Grandma about anything. She and I would have long conversations about stuff I was uncomfortable talking to anyone else about. I always came away with a clear vision and reassured when our talks were over. She had a way of challenging you with what you already knew and making you take action on it. She even played a big role in my asking my wife Marci to marry me (thank you Grandma). She loved Marci almost as much as I do.

I was blessed to have Grandma in my life, as was every person she touched. She was a constant source of joy, support and love. Her guidance and influence have shaped my foundation, and I will carry her wisdom and love with me always. I am fortunate to have had her play such a large role in my life, and I am proud to be her grandson.

As I continue to celebrate the life of this amazing woman, I keep this in mind. The best way to carry on the legacy that Grandma has left behind…the best way to celebrate the life of Martha Waller… is love those around you so much that they never can forget.

—Andy Belval

Highway to Tomorrow

The University of Kansas Gerontology Program Presents: “A Creative Aging Performance”
KU: Building a home that helps residents stay healthy
Passive Health Monitoring: Arming Caregivers With The Right Tools
Inter-professional Education in Aging for Law and Healthcare Students
Mid-America Regional Council

Events
3rd Annual I-70 Corridor Network on Aging Conference
Kansas City