Concordia Retirement Living Resident Stays Full of Life by Remaining Active

When Concordia residents explain why they chose Concordia retirement living, there are three terms they use the most: quality, security and value. What we’ve learned over the years is that those terms can have different interpretations – especially “security.” Security can be a resident’s satisfaction with the financial security Concordia provides for their estate or loved ones, physical building security or even the security of having people around who share similar interests and experiences. Concordia retirement living resident Kathy Shields falls into the latter camp, having found a new sense of belonging after moving to Concordia at Cabot.

“You’re giving up a bunch of loneliness to come here,” Kathy said about her decision to make the move to the Cabot retirement community at Concordia (Concordia Haven Apartments).

Kathy was born and raised in the Lawrenceville section of Pittsburgh. She and her husband relocated to Ft. Meyers, Florida where they opened a furniture company. She earned a degree in interior design and put it to use when they moved to a manufactured home community. There, Kathy took charge of all of the decorating responsibilities. Her love of crafting led her to become one of the founders of the Old Bridge Village Craft Show in the area.

Almost 16 years ago, Kathy’s husband passed away, she lost her job and she found out she needed a hip replacement. Each event seemed to bring her back home. Finally, her sister convinced her to come to Pittsburgh for her surgery. She bought a townhouse in Saxonburg, but, after living there for some time, Kathy realized she was just too lonely and decided to make the transition to Concordia in June of 2015.

“In my situation, this was the best possible thing for me,” Kathy said.

She recalls the exact moment she made the decision, explaining that it was as if God was tapping her on the shoulder. After touring Concordia Haven 1, she had her sights set on a specific apartment that was ideal for her and her dog, Peaches – a friendly, 6-year-old Bichon Frise that she describes as “her life.” At the time, however, the perfect apartment for her was occupied, so she waited an entire year to move in.

Staying busy and staying involved is what she enjoys most about Concordia.

“They allow you to get involved if you want to get involved,” she said. Kathy was in charge of making favors for Concordia’s Annual Fashion Show the past two years. She also taught a wreath-making class in May as part of the Lifelong Learning classes offered at Concordia.

According to Kathy, a lot of people don’t know what they are missing.  

“I have the perfect apartment,” she said. “The entertainment here is wonderful, and they offer a lot.”

Kathy also enjoys making friends and being social. Her motto – “to have a good friend you have to be a good friend” has provided many new friends during her past two years at Concordia. Her advice to other residents is to get out, get involved and be with people. She encourages others to try to be active and give back.

“My goal of living here is I want to leave it better than when I came,” she said. “If I can do that, I’ve achieved something.”

For more information on Concordia’s worry-free retirement communities in Pittsburgh, Cabot or Copley, Ohio, (and soon at Highpointe at Rebecca, our soon-to-be-finished retirement community in Allison Park) visit the Retirement Living section of our website. You can also message us throuh the Contact form on our website or call 724-352-1571 for general questions.