Remembering Martha Charles...

January 28, 2010

Few retirement communities have had the privilege of being home to an individual for over 42 years. This has been the privilege of Landis Homes, where Martha Charles lived and served for 42 of her 97 years.

Martha, and her husband Christian, moved to Landis Homes on May 18, 1967, just three years and three months after Landis Homes began serving residents on February 18, 1964. According to former staff member, Ruth Johnson, who joined the staff team in 1967, Martha and Christ as residents also served as weekend backup staff for Superintendent and Matron George and Grace Leaman when they took weekend breaks.

Over the years, Martha was a blessing to many other residents, family members, staff and others. Current Landis Homes Board Members Connie Stauffer and James Martin remember well the times that Martha greeted them at the East Front Entrance as they came to visit family members at Landis Homes. James remembers the support that Martha was to his mother after his father died.

Chris Kennel, Director of Construction Services, has many good memories of Martha from the time he started working at Landis Homes. Each Friday morning Martha and Chris would go to Stauffers of Kissel Hill with the station wagon to pick up produce for the kitchens and personal orders for residents. Chris would get the kitchen order while Martha would get the personal orders. Martha always asked about Chris' family and how his work was going as they traveled back and forth. Chris said that Martha helped him enjoy his start at Landis Homes.

Joyce Shenk of Landis Homes' Volunteer Services team, shared that she recently had a conversation with Martha's Friendly Visitor, Stephanie Lloyd who with her daughter, Grace, visited with Martha over the past year and a half, and their last visit was a week before Martha died. Joyce said that they consider little Grace Landis Homes' "youngest volunteer". How appropriate that one of Landis Homes longest serving volunteers was being blessed at the end of her life by Landis Homes youngest volunteer! Ella Burkholder, Director of Laundry and Housekeeping, summed up her feelings by saying, "I'll never forget her! I've known her for 30 years!"

One of my favorite authors, Robert Greenleaf, who at age 70 started a second career in writing about Servant Leadership, said he was inspired by reading a work of fiction in 1958. According to Greenleaf, "The idea of the servant as leader came out of reading Hermann Hesse's Journey to the East. In this story, we see a band of men on a mythical journey... The central figure of the story is Leo, who accompanies the party as the servant who does their menial chores, but who also sustains them with his spirit and his song." Leo turned out at the end to be a true servant leader.

As I reflect on Martha's 42 years of living at Landis Homes, I am reminded of this story, and am very grateful for her example of serving others, in the same way that Jesus invited us to serve others as he took the towel and basin and washed the disciples' feet.

Larry Zook

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