Category: News

We are proud to announce the an exciting addition to the Epworth Villa Family. Welcome Pastor Laura!

Pastor Laura Glover was born in Oklahoma City and was raised primarily in rural Oklahoma farming communities. She loves her rural Oklahoma upbringing and credits it with giving her strong personal values, a love of people, a commitment to strong community, a firm foundation in the Methodist tradition, and a rabid love of sports. She attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia for her undergraduate degree, OU College of Law for a law degree, and Saint Paul School of Theology for a master’s in theology. Though she lived several years in Houston and Virginia, Oklahoma has always been home. She has served United Methodist churches in Perkins, Ripley, and Stillwater, and most recently served as pastor of Parish on the Prairie, a cooperative parish of churches in Jefferson, Medford, and Wakita.

Pastor Laura is blessed with two wonderful adult children. Daughter, Amber, teaches high school science in Houston and is married to her high school sweetheart, Justin. Son, Patrick, is living in the Dallas area and working multiple jobs so he can enjoy more visits home to Mom.

In addition to her commitment to helping residents and staff at Epworth Villa thrive spiritually, Pastor Laura enjoys sports (especially college football), laughter, music, reading, knitting, gardening, and travel, and she is always up for a good game of Scrabble!

Hear from Chuck Abell, Director of Dining Services:

“After my enlistment in the Air Force, I began a restaurant career in 1997 with Charleston’s restaurants in OKC for 4 years. I then moved on to Chili’s, where I spent 13 years working in most of the metro area. At both Chilis’s and Charleston’s, I spent time managing both the front of house operations as well as the kitchen staff. I spent a period of time with Chili’s as the area culinary manager, launching new menu roll-outs and training each restaurant on preparing new menu items.

In 2014, my oldest son was entering high school, and I felt the need to spend more time with family at home and the rigors of the restaurant industry did not allow for that. I left Chili’s and began a career in real estate, which I continue to this day. It was through a client that I sold a home to in 2015 that I found out about an opportunity to meld my career experience managing restaurants with my passion for sports. I was hired by Levy Restaurants to manage premium clubs at Chesapeake Energy arena where I spent the 2019 OKC Thunder season and what there was of the 2020 season. Levy is the Sports and Entertainment arm of its parent company, Compass Group.

When the pandemic caused the Sports and Entertainment industry to come to a halt, Compass Group offered its employees opportunities to remain under the umbrella. I was able to move to Epworth Villa with Unidine Corporation – the healthcare arm of the Compass Group.

Social Work Month in March is a time to celebrate the great profession of social work. The theme for Social Work Month 2021 is Social Workers Are Essential.

Meet Elizabeth Newell, LCSW. She has been at Epworth Villa 7 years. You will never meet a more caring, loving, compassionate person. We are so very lucky to have Elizabeth as part of our team. She cares very deeply for all of the Residents that she serves. SHE IS ESSENTIAL!

Social workers are essential to community well-being.As practitioners, social workers are trained to help people address personal and systemic barriers to optimal living. They are employed to effect positive change with individuals, families, groups and entire communities.

Thank you Elizabeth! We celebrate you!

A temporary Chapel Space sponsored by the Religious Life Committee has been designated and prepared for personal worship and meditation until the Brill Chapel has been repaired from the recent water damage. The new space normally known as the activities area is located on the second floor above the Café.

In keeping with the theme “Walk to Jerusalem” activity beginning March 1 and the Lenten/Easter Season the décor features the country of Israel. Many of the items on display are souvenirs, pictures, and stories on loan from our residents who have visited Israel. A committee of three, JoAnn M. Sallie S. and Wilma R. are responsible for the design and decoration of the room.

Residents and Staff are invited to come by anytime 24/7 for quiet reflection on the Lenten weekly scripture postings, prayer, meditation and reading material on the coffee table. We believe you will be pleasantly surprised and pleased with the peaceful ambiance, background music, and beauty of this special room prepared with Loving Care for your Spiritual Enhancement.

Thank you to the residents who have contributed both in loaning their treasures from Israel and in your financial support that has made the additional décor possible.

For our second 6-week movement challenge, we are trying something new!

In celebration of Lent, Walk to Jerusalem will begin March 1st and end April 7th. The idea is to walk the distance from Epworth Villa to Jerusalem, which is 6680 miles to symbolize Jesus’s own Walk to Jerusalem. We know individually someone won’t be able to walk that distance in 6 weeks, so it’s a group effort! The more people we have participating, the more chance we have to cover that number of miles.

Chef Jonathan Groth is a graduate of the prestigious Coach House Apprenticeship Program in Oklahoma City. As a Certified Chef, Jonathan has had a wide-ranging career; from a couple of stints teaching culinary school, to being an executive chef, to operating a food truck. While the primary focus of Chef Groth’s culinary training has been in the French cuisine tradition, he also has a wide range of culinary experience and influences; from Korean, to Italian, to Latin, to Indian, to American.

Chef Groth is a father to two wonderful girls: Greysen (12) and Lauren (9). The household also consists of a Siamese-American Shorthair cat named Storm and a Maltese puppy named Musketeer.

As our Restaurants open back up, Chef Groth will take us on a culinary journey. We can’t wait!

We have said before, our community offers so many unique opportunities to get moving and stay moving.  Boxing isn’t all that unique, but it is a perfect fit for Don!

There are many benefits of boxing, but the two we like the most are the mind body benefits.  Boxing is a way to improve coordination.  By repeatedly practicing the movements and punch combinations, you begin to feel more graceful and coordinated––even if you weren’t at all to begin with. You don’t have to be coordinated to box, but boxing can help you become more coordinated.

Boxing flexes your mental muscles.  You have six punches and five defense moves. You have to remember the names, you have to be quick, you have to be light on your feet.  When putting all those combinations together it requires focus and memorization.  Your brain ends up getting as much of a workout as your biceps!

“If you want to go fast go alone. If you want to go far go together.” – African Proverb

Our community not only offers many opportunities to get moving and stay moving. We find that new friendships are developed and old ones are re-kindled. If you want, you can also find an accountability partner to help you stay motivated! Great job guys!!

Bill and John can normally be found out on the road, but they sometimes utilize the indoor spin bicycles when they want to get a quick ride in. Spin bikes?? Yep! We’ve got ‘em!

While Epworth Villa may be a place to come and keep busy, it’s also your new home with new friends at the ready! Loneliness and isolation can be detrimental to one’s health. At Epworth Villa, we are grateful for all our caring friends and neighbors that keep us vibrant and engaged.

Wellness Coordinator, Lori Love talks with CEO, Ron Kelly about the first 6-week movement challenge at Epworth Villa. Our community is unique in that we challenge our Residents to be the best they can be: Physically and Mentally. Having accountability partners in our community and the amenities that offer a variety of ways to move.