Living to 100

Gloria Lund has quilts to sew. For family and friends. And for veterans and children she’ll likely never meet. Almost daily, she lovingly pieces together her colorful designs in her sewing room or with her friends in Stonecrest’s Activity Room–or as it’s more commonly known, the “Sewing Room.”

Gloria and her late husband, Rollie, moved to Stonecrest in Woodbury, Minnesota, in 2002 and knew immediately that they made a great choice. They continued to attend their home church, where Gloria served in a prayer partner circle and was paired with Vivian Fjelstad. The two formed a close friendship, which continued through Vivian’s life-ending illness. A year later, Rollie passed away.

“I met Vivian’s husband, Luther, just briefly when I dropped off a quilt for her before she passed away,” says Gloria. “It was a pleasant surprise when he called to check in on me and invite me out to lunch about six months after Rollie died. We’ve been friends ever since.” In 2012, Luther moved into an apartment down the hall from Gloria.

“We’re a family here at Stonecrest,” says Luther. “Gloria and her sewing friends are ready and willing to tailor and mend clothes, and I’m eager to talk about current events with our neighbors. We’re a friendly place.”

As a way to demonstrate their philanthropy, Gloria and Luther each funded a charitable gift annuity (CGA) to benefit the other and eventually Stonecrest. Creating these CGAs provided them favorable tax benefits and fixed-income payments for life.

Luther sums up their charitable intentions, “In our lifetimes, we wanted to give to help the future residents who call Stonecrest home.”

Supporting Stonecrest through CGAs also makes Gloria and Luther members of the Legacy Society–the PHS giving society that recognizes donors who have made estate gifts to benefit PHS or a PHS community in the future.

“We’re fortunate,” says Gloria. “These gifts are a way that we can continue to help others enjoy Stonecrest as much as we do.”