WEDNESDAY, may 26, 2021 | SENIOR LIVING | PAGE 1
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1201 Garfield Avenue • Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-373-2311 • ThorneCrest.net
Thorne Crest is owned and operated by American Baptist Homes of the Midwest, a not-for-profit provider of senior health care since 1930.
SENIOR LIVING
Focusing on wellness
Jordan Montes is the new wellness director at Thorne Crest Senior Living Community. Sarah Stultz/Albert Lea Tribune
Albert Lea native starts as new wellness director at Thorne Crest By Sarah Stultz
sarah.stultz@albertleatribune.com
After moving away from Albert Lea to attend college and start his career, an Albert Lea native is making a name for himself back in the community he grew up in as the new wellness director at Thorne Crest Senior Living Community. Jordan Montes is a few weeks into the position at Thorne Crest, after previously working for a physical therapy clinic ExercisAbilities in Rochester for over seven years. There he worked as an exercise physiologist, working with patients who had Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries
or strokes, to name a few conditions. He graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and rehabilitative science from Winona State University. Montes said he moved back to Albert Lea four years ago but had been commuting to Rochester for his previous job. The commute was getting to be too much, so he started looking for something closer to home so he could have more time for his family — his wife, Amanda, and their three children, 14, 5 and 11 months. In his new role as wellness director at Thorne Crest, he helps not only with wellness
“Everyone is so welcoming. The residents are awesome and open-minded. They’re letting me be flexible and implement my own ideas.” — Thorne Crest Senior Living Community wellness director Jordan Montes for the residents but also wellness for the staff. He said he will conduct both group and oneon-one classes and right now helps around 50 clients. One of the highlights at Thorne Crest is the pool, where he hoped soon
it would be open again to classes after a break for the COVID-19 pandemic. “Everyone is so welcoming,” he said. “The residents are awesome and open-minded. They’re letting me be flexible and imple-
ment my own ideas.” In addition to his work with the residents and staff at Thorne Crest, Montes said he would like to implement more group classes in the future where people from the community can also attend. “I really want to get the community involved,” he said. Outside of work, Montes said he enjoys spending time with family and friends and is an avid biker and enjoys playing basketball, hiking and camping. His wife is also originally from Albert Lea, and both of their families are in the surrounding area.
Senior Spotlight: Joel B. Erickson Age: 45 or so Native of: grew up in Rochester Place of residency: Waters Edge, St. John’s on Fountain Lake Family: Pembie, my wife of 51 years; daughter, Natasha, and husband, Kevin, grandkids Nathan (25), Rachael (23) and Owen (17); son, Jeshua, and wife, Jennifer, grandkids Axel (12) and Trixie (9). Education: St. Olaf College, Bachelor of Arts in psychology; Luther Seminary, master of divinity; Graduate Theological Foundation, doctor of ministry in spiritual direction Former occupation: Lutheran minister, 1973 to 2009 What is your favorite childhood memory? For the first 10 years of my life, I lived on a sheep farm with my family. Surrounding our home on two acres of lawn were
12 fruit trees: apples, crabapples, plums and one pear tree. In the spring, the blossoms bursting forth left me in wonder for their beauty and fragrances. And then later, of course, tasting the many different fruit varieties was a great joy. What is your favorite memory from adulthood? It is an ongoing memory of looking back on our grandchildren growing into their unique personhood — daily learning, creating and discovering. It amazes me how each grandchild is unique, courageously living out of their gifts, abilities and passions. Is there a piece of advice you wish someone had given you or you would have listened to when you were younger? Delayed gratification and the importance of it is something I wish I had practiced more readily in the first half of my life. The call for immediate results or outcomes short circuits the healthy process of learning.
What is the greatest lesson life has taught you? My father had a big poster hanging on the wall of the basement bathroom. It was a picture of an old alfalfa sickle bar mower; the mover was covered in rust. In big letters on the poster was this: “People don’t wear out, they rust out.” God has gifted us with talents and abilities designed for use, not for storage. And more importantly used for the sake of others. My wife and I participated in an Aging Mastery Workshop in the fall of 2019. This workshop reinforced the message that retirement is not synonymous with going into storage. What do you enjoy most about where you are living now? Our living at Waters Edge gives us the freedom to pursue other ventures than maintaining a house that comes with weeding, shoveling snow and continual repairs. We go camping every other week with our Rpod during the summer, a time that includes fly fishing, bird watching, drawing, reading and hiking. The tenants
are a great group of people affording frequent interactions and visits. My brother lives at
The Meadows of St. John’s on Fountain Lake, so thankfully I am close to him.