Retired Teacher Settling Down at ISL After Living All Over

CANTON – William Eustis was born in Chicago, grew up in Hammond and is now residing at United Helpers Independent Senior Living in Canton.

In between Chicago and Canton though there were plenty of other stops along the way including “downstate,” where he began his teaching career and four other states, where he and his wife, Frances spent time during retirement.

“We spent time in Colorado, Montana, Washington and Arizona,” he said, adding that his wife passed away in 2018.

A few years after she passed, Mr. Eustis returned home to Northern New York, where he has spent the past several years living along the St. Lawrence between Ogdensburg and Morristown.

“I started losing all of my friends and I don’t really have any family around here,” he said. “All I’ve got left is two children and neither of them live in the area.” His daughter resides in Cape Cod, while his son lives in Waterloo, Ill.   

William Eustis enjoys a book in the library.

Mr. Eustis then began looking for a place where he could settle down, make some new friends and enjoy the remaining years of his retirement without having to worry about maintaining a home and its surrounding property.

When asked if he knew anyone who lived in the building prior to moving to Independent Senior Living in September, he said the answer that is not as simple as it may seem.

Community Housing Manager Jennifer Dean invited him to the building’s annual summer picnic and it was there that he discovered Janet Stitt also lived there.

“She used to babysit our children,” he said. “It’s just one of those crazy things. I didn’t know she lived here until I saw her at the picnic this past summer.”

Mr. Eustis has lived in the building for nearly six months now, moving in shortly after the picnic, and he said he is very much enjoying everything Independent Senior Living has to offer.

“The people are all very friendly, including the staff and other members and the food is fantastic,” he said. “That’s just what I needed.”

Mr. Eustis also enjoys many of the building’s scheduled activities, which earlier this year included a visit from Ogdensburg-native, turned Hollywood actor Mark Valley.

“I didn’t know Mark personally, but his dad and I taught together at Ogdensburg Free Academy,” he said.

He is also a regular visitor to the in-house library, where he enjoys searching for his next read.

If you would like to schedule a tour of United Helpers Independent Senior Living, please reach out to Mrs. Dean at (315) 379-1428 or via email at jadean@unitedhelpers.org. A virtual tour is also available at www.unitedhelpers.org.

Potsdam Couple Enjoying Transition to Independent Senior Living

CANTON - A pair of retired educators is learning that the transition from owning a home to living in a smaller space doesn’t have to be as difficult as one may think.

“We just moved out of our home in Potsdam where we lived for more than 60 years,” said Neil Johnson. “I’m not going to say there hasn’t been a period of adjustment, but everyone here has made it easier than we thought it would be.

Mr. Johnson and his wife, Marilyn moved into United Helpers Independent Senior Living in April, although Mr. and Mrs. Johnson said they’re still doing quite a bit of travel back and forth between Canton and Potsdam.

The couple’s home is currently for sale and Mr. Johnson said they’re looking forward to selling their house and really becoming a part of the ISL family.

“We’re really looking forward to getting settled in and becoming more involved with things,” he said. 

Neil and Marilyn Johnson

When asked why they decided to move to United Helpers Independent Senior Living, Mrs. Johnson said they were living in a three-story home. “Our laundry was in the basement and our bedroom was on the second floor. It was just getting to be too much. We already knew some people here and we know some more who are planning to move in.”

The couple’s two children also encouraged them to make the move.

“Our children told us if we didn’t pay the application fee, they would do it for us,” Mr. Johnson said.

The Johnsons said they knew they wanted to stay in the North Country.

“We met in college in Pennsylvania and have been together ever since,” he said. “There’s really nothing of this sort in the area and we really wanted to stay here.”

Mr. Johnson retired as a member of the Physical Education Department at SUNY Potsdam. Mrs. Johnson retired as a member of the Physical Education Department at Clarkson. She even holds the distinction of being the first woman on staff in that department.

As for their favorite thing about living at United Helpers Independent Senior Living, Mr. Johnson only half-jokingly replied, “The evening meal.”

“There has been a couple of times when we’ve had guests and they’ve handled everything perfectly,” Mrs. Johnson said.

On a more serious note, Mr. Johnson said they both really appreciate Community Manager Jennifer Dean and everything she does for all of the members there.

A captain though is only as good as the members of their team, and the Johnsons say that’s part of what makes United Helpers so great.

“They’re very attentive to detail. When you put in a work order for something, you don’t have to wait very long for it to get done and get done right,” Marilyn said. “The staff are all very great about looking after everyone, but the best part about being here is the people who live here do that too.”

If you or a loved one are looking to downsize, perhaps United Helpers Independent Senior Living could be for you. An open house will be held there on Friday, June 13 from 1 to 3 pm. Come and meet Mrs. Dean, tour the property, meet a few members, and even enjoy some cookies and lemonade.

United Helpers Independent Senior Living is located at 30 Sullivan Drive in Canton. To learn more, please call (315) 379-1428 or visit www.unitedhelpers.org.