Blue Slipper Stories
Widows’ Guild Newsletter ̵ Fall 2021
“I enjoy telling people what it’s truly like here,” Mary said. “It’s a way to meet people in ‘our’ shoes and try to help. The first time I called a lady in Florida, she had just lost her husband a little less than a year prior. We talked for about two and a half hours. She poured out to me. It meant a lot. We still talk monthly.” Mary also connected with Helen Becker, widow of Brother Norman Becker, Vaux Lodge No. 406, Hamburg, who eventually moved to Masonic Village at Elizabethtown in January. Helen was unfamiliar with the Widows’ Guild before getting a call from Mary.
A Blossoming FRIENDSHIP Life doesn’t always go as planned. Having a good friend, who has faced similar experiences, can help make unexpected hurdles manageable.
“My motto is ‘Blossom where you’re planted,’” Mary Alban said. The phrase keeps
her grounded even through the rough moments, like when her husband, Brother Thomas Alban, White Rose Lodge No. 706, York, was diagnosed with early onset dementia and passed away in 2015. It also motivates her to help others blossom. Mary learned about the Masonic Widows’ Guild and was presented a blue slipper pin by Brother Alvin Blitz, chief gift planning officer for the Masonic Charities. She attended breakfast socials through the group and also met Linda Jackson, relations administrator, who mentioned volunteer opportunities. Mary knew this was her new calling. Volunteering was “my thing,” she said, having put in over 1,000 hours at a hospital and soup kitchen in New Mexico near where she lived before moving to Masonic Village at Elizabethtown. Linda suggested Mary could contact widows who are interested in moving to Masonic Village but haven’t done so yet. With group events put on hold due to COVID-19, phone calls are the best way to keep the group connected.
“I came during the pandemic and didn’t see anyone for weeks as I was quarantined,” Helen said of her move because of COVID. “Then, Mary appeared. She is a lovely person. She’s thoughtful and easy to talk to and has been a friend ever since. “New people enhance your life, and hopefully, we can revive the Widows’ Guild and make many new friendships.” Helen met her husband after his return from World War II, and then he was recalled for Korea after their marriage. “As so many others, I now know what it is to lose a loved one you spent your life with, and in that way can help others as they share their stories – stories we can relate to,” she said, “With that experience, we can help each other, make new friends and make our lives at Masonic Village pleasant and rewarding.”
While remembering their pasts, the women look forward to what the future holds for their friendship and lives together at Masonic Village. “I feel I have much to offer,” Helen added. “We’re making new memories here,” Mary said.
OUTREACH Resources EXPAND By Brother Nicholas K. Mahler, Director of Outreach and Membership Services In order to fully support our membership and their loved ones, the Outreach and Membership Services Department has expanded the services and benefits available throughout Pennsylvania. A new, comprehensive Resource Guide and Contacts tool is now available to all lodge leadership to help when called upon. Whether it’s a member or their loved one looking for information on the Masonic Villages or requesting financial assistance during a challenging personal or family situation, we have the resources available to offer maximum support.
The Masonic Outreach and Member Services Department works directly with lodge leadership to diagnosis a crisis or challenge and create or recommend a plan to achieve a positive outcome for those in need of assistance. Our programs are flexible and adaptable to each individual situation and circumstance. In addition, we created a more universal application for our Masonic Outreach to provide financial support to Masons, their wives and widows struggling through tough times. With this application available to lodge leadership across the state, we can more directly engage with our member families and expedite requests.
Please contact Outreach and Member Services if you have any questions by calling 1-800-462-7664 or emailing outreach@masonicvillages.org.
GREETINGS from LINDA JACKSON Relations Administrator I hope you enjoy the fall edition of Blue Slipper Stories. I enjoy sharing inspirational stories of friendship and highlight events that honor and recognize Masonic widows. My favorite stories are those of widows helping other widows with simple acts of kindness. In our summer edition, we shared the story of Mary Ann O’Neil and her offer to do anything she can to assist widows in Westmoreland County. In this issue, we highlight Mary Alban and how her willingness to volunteer as our “Masonic Widow Ambassador” welcoming new widows at Masonic Villages in Elizabethtown blossomed into a lasting friendship. These are just a few examples of how our Widows’ Guild is bring people together. I would love to hear your story. If you have made a connection through the Masonic Widows Guild, please consider sharing your story so others will be inspired to get involved.
Over the spring and summer months, local lodges hosted special events for widows to reaffirm and reassure that their support of their husband’s commitment to the fraternity has not gone unrecognized. I am further encouraged that more lodges have committed to hosting annual widow events. As pandemic restrictions eased, Widows’ Guild receptions were held in Mechanicsburg and Lititz, and several events are planned in the upcoming months. Attendance at our events has thus far has been strong, and many women expressed gratitude for the opportunity to meet in person. I look forward to meeting many of you at a reception in your town. Until then, stay safe and stay well. Please contact me if I can be of assistance.
Remember, if you would like a copy of the Widows’ Guild Directory, please email me at lmjackson@masonicvillages.org or call 717-367-1121, ext. 33497.
Several weeks later, I was having lunch with Bro. Tom Shott in Palmyra, PA. Bro. Tom’s, wife, Dolores, was a patient in the hospice program when she passed away in 2018. Tom was very grateful for the care Dolores received while at the Masonic Health Care Center. So, I showed Tom the plans for the new end of life comfort care neighborhood. It included proposed space for 16 private resident rooms, a chapel, kitchen, & private family (relaxation) rooms. I asked Tom if he would consider helping make the project a reality. Both Tom and Dolores were wonderful supporters of charity, especially at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and the Annville-Cleona Kiwanis Club.
HELPING CREATE a SPECIAL SPACE for OUR LOVED ONES NEEDING END-of-LIFE COMFORT CARE How Bro. Shott is helping to make this a reality with your support. By Brother Alvin H. Blitz, Esq. Chief Gift Planning Officer, Masonic Villages The Masonic Villages at Elizabethtown currently provides end of life comfort care in the Masonic Health Care Center to individuals at various rooms throughout the building based upon availability. With the advent of the pandemic, fewer individuals were admitted to the Masonic Health Care Center and eventually a wing in the building was vacated. Matt Mayo, assistant executive director/nursing home administrator, and his team (including past hospice medical directors; Dr. George Simms & Dr. Ken Brubaker) then hit upon the idea of realizing a dream for those needing such care to have its own space by converting the vacated neighborhood (nursing unit) into a dedicated area for end of life comfort care residents at the Masonic Health Care Center. We were approached to see if our department could raise the up to $300,000 to make the project a reality and provide funds to support the future of the program.
Tom said he could come up with $150,000 towards the project which he believed would benefit future loved ones that need end of life comfort services like Dolores did. I told Tom that would be great and we could dedicate the neighborhood in her memory. I told him how thankful I was that a fellow Mason could support a program his wife benefited from, and I would work hard to raise the matching funds to complete the project. This is where I ask my readers for your support. Help us transform this space at the Masonic Health Care Center in Elizabethtown into a home where our loved ones can live out their lives in dignity. This would be a perfect way of giving a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) or appreciated stock to support the end of life comfort care program. Of course, a check works just as well.
Gifts should be made to “Masonic Charities of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania” and restricted to “End of Life Comfort Care Program”. Feel free to call me at 800-599-6454 or email me at ablitz@masonicvillages.org if you have any questions about supporting this project. Our goal is to initiate use of the space by the beginning of 2022, so I am hopeful we can reach the finish line for this important project to support our Masonic Family and residents at Masonic Villages by the end of the year. Thank you in advance for your support.
Leave a Legacy: Please Consider Including Masonic Charities in Your Will or Estate Plan.
Masonic Widows Guild Program 12 Village Green Drive Elizabethtown, PA 17022
Blue Slipper Stories
Widows’ Guild Newsletter ̵ Summer 2021
Contact Us If you or someone you know is interested in the services offered by the Masonic Outreach Program:
In This Issue... • A BLOSSOMING •O UTREACH
EXPANDED
FRIENDSHIP
RESOURCES
Masonic Outreach Program
• GREETINGS
One Masonic Drive Elizabethtown, PA 17022 1-800-462-7664
•A SPECIAL SPACE
outreach@masonicvillages.org www.masonicvillages.org/outreach If you want to be removed from our mailing list, please contact us and let us know.
FROM LINDA JACKSON FOR END-OF-LIFE COMFORT CARE
The Pennsylvania Masonic Widows’ Guild is in place to recognize, honor and support the widows of Pennsylvania Masons. If you have questions about the Widows’ Guild or would like to become a member and receive your blue slipper pin, please call Relations Administrator Linda Jackson at 1-800-599-6454 or email lmjackson@masonicvillages.org.