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Resident Stories

Senior Living Community in Concord

Fascinating people. Interesting backgrounds.

Just like you, Newbury Court is home to those with colorful stories to tell. Yet no matter where they came from, what they’ve accomplished or the challenges they’ve faced, they’re a welcoming, lively bunch that share in the spirit of fellowship, fun and community.

Enjoy their stories then come for a visit at one of the best retirement communities in the Concord and MetroWest area. They’d love to learn about you.

Senior Women Playing Cards

Lynn and Bob Stroud Sitting on Couch

Margie Yamamoto and Mark Hopkins Sitting on Couch

Lilian Warner Sitting on Couch

Jan and Ted Carvalho - Residents

Dalton Avery Sitting in Chair

Katharine Esty and Peter Gunness in front of window

Marcia Bradley - Resident

Programs and Classes

Programs and Classes

Music, literature, history, art… Come grow in the creative side of life.

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Dining

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Independent Living

Independent Living

Enjoy the freedom of an enriching, maintenance-free lifestyle.

Newbury Court-Entrance Sign

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Concierge Desk with Residents

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Careers

Meet Lynn and Bob Stroud

Lynn and Bob Stroud share many loves in life—their passion for world travel, their readiness to get involved and explore new adventures and, of course, their adoration for their daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. And there’s one that has always stood the test of time—their love for one another.

Their story together began at a wedding back in 1965, not their own, but rather that of a former classmate of Lynn’s. At the time, Bob was dating Lynn’s old college roommate, a bridesmaid in the procession.

As Bob tells it, “My date came up to me and said, ‘I have to go off and have pictures taken.’ She introduced me to Lynn and asked if I could take of her. Well, I take directions quite literally. So, for the past 53 years, I’ve been taking care of her.”

Lynn is still friends with her old roommate. “And every year on the date of that wedding, I always thank her,” Lynn adds. “She gave me Bob.”

Lynn grew up in Westport, Connecticut, and in 1952, her parents bought a house on Nantucket where they loved to spend their summers. She and her family still enjoy that same home today. Lynn attended Bennett College in Millbrook, New York, before transferring to Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, where she earned her degree in English literature.

Bob, on the other hand, was born in East Orange, New Jersey, before moving to Maplewood. He graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and then went on to Columbia Business School where he majored in finance. After graduation, he joined the Air Force and was stationed at Andrews Air Force Base for four years, where Bob and Lynn started their married life. After he served our country, they moved to Cincinnati, Ohio.

“I spent the bulk of my career with Procter and Gamble,” Bob says. “I was in the purchasing area buying a little bit of everything. Some things were not so exciting, like purchasing cardboard boxes. Other things, like trading soybean oil futures, were.” During his last few years with P&G, he worked in pharmaceuticals where he learned how new drugs are qualified. “I’m finding that knowledge very interesting now with the vaccines and all.”

Lynn Stroud Sitting at a Dinner Table

Gone to Nantucket Sign

Bob Stroud Sitting in Chair

Lynn and Bob spent 44 years in Cincinnati before moving to Newbury Court, and their journey here was long and unexpected. The road began more than 38 years ago while on their annual vacation to the British Virgin Islands.

One day while on the beach, Lynn met a couple named Sally and Bill and they quickly struck up a long-lasting friendship. They made it a point to keep in touch. After Bob and Lynn’s daughter and her family moved to Concord, Lynn called Sally who had moved to Concord and Newbury Court herself.

“Sally said, ‘You must come have lunch next time you’re in town.’ I took Sally up on the offer and the second I walked into Newbury Court, I thought, ‘Oh, I really like this place.’”

When Lynn returned to Cincinnati, she told Bob, “You have to look at this place and see what it’s all about. It feels right to me. And the next time we were in the area, we took a look, and you know the rest of the story.”

“Funny thing is,” Bob continues, “we weren’t even thinking of a retirement community.”

“It’s been a pleasure to be so close to our family,” Lynn adds, “to be there for everyday life and special occasions. It’s been wonderful and they’re so happy that we’re happy.”

“Yes,” Bob continues, “to see our granddaughter play field hockey, the grandson play football. And just the other day, they called up and asked, ‘Hey, dad, are you free Saturday to play golf?’ So, there I was with my daughter, grandson and son-in-law playing a round, it was most enjoyable. And as I told them, ‘that's why we moved here.’”

Along with golf, Bob has a love for photography and history. He’s also dabbled in Newbury Court art classes. “I started with watercolors and I flunked,” he laughs. “Then I tried drawing and that held my interest for a few months. But then I started pottery, something I obviously knew nothing about, and it’s really fun. I’ve even taken some private lessons here. I’m heavily into that now.”

But when it comes to the two Strouds, it’s Lynn who really keeps a full calendar. “Where do I begin? I’m chair of the welcoming committee for new residents. I do Coffee Confidential, which is a get-together with future residents to educate them about what it’s like to live here from a resident standpoint. I’m taking exercise classes and am very involved in poetry classes. I’m also part of a writing group where I’m crafting humor-based stories about our lives for our great grandchildren. I really enjoy that.” She is the chair for the 2021 Talent Show too!

Lynn, in all her free time, has also started a madrigal singing group. “As a freshman in college, I sang madrigals and loved it. I hadn’t thought about it since, until one day I asked a friend here, Betsy, ‘Do you think we could ever start a madrigal group?’ And here we are, 17 strong and Betsy is our wonderful leader. It’s so much fun.”

Overall, Lynn and Bob say they were surprised at all the choices to get involved and how easy it was to make new friends, especially since they aren’t from the area.

“I’m just amazed how open and receptive everyone is to new people,” Lynn says. “People here have such interesting lives, and they’re willing to share their experiences. When you have dinner with someone, you always learn something, which I think is great. These are the people who are going to support us during the good times and the sad times. It is comforting to know they’re here for us. We’re like one big happy family.”

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Meet Margie Yamamoto and Mark Hopkins

When it comes to their creativity, sense of humor and drive for helping others, Margie Yamamoto and Mark Hopkins are two peas in a pod. Though married for nearly 40 years now, their upbringings couldn’t have been more different.

Mark grew up, as he says, “four towns over in Dover.” What he enjoyed most in his youth he’ll tell you with a laugh. “Well, most I think is publishable, but I loved hunting and fishing, carousing with the boys and having a good time.” That didn’t keep him from graduating from Brown University in 1954 with a liberal arts degree.

Japanese American Margie Yamamoto and Family

Margie, on the other hand, a Japanese American, was born in California following the outbreak of WWII. She and her family were among the 120,000 persons of Japanese ancestry who were forced from their homes on the West Coast and imprisoned in American incarceration camps because they looked like the enemy. Two thirds of them were American citizens. Margie spent the first two years of her life in one of these camps located in the Arizona desert.

After the war, Margie and her family returned to southern California. As she grew up, she discovered a love for writing. “I was always editor of the newspapers in high school and college and also earned a master’s degree in mass communications,” Margie explains. “After college, I worked primarily in marketing communications in California and New York City, and I worked for Walt Disney Productions, healthcare organizations and nonprofits. Before retiring, I worked for 18 years at WGBH, Boston’s public broadcasting station.”

Meanwhile, Mark was putting his writing chops to use in the advertising world in Boston. He spent the first half of his career as an ad agency executive and the second half as a freelance writer. “One of the major things that I did in my last years as a writer was to create the first websites for companies. This is back when people would say, ‘a what kind of site?’”

One day in 1964 when Mark was serving as a public relations director for General Electric pavilion at the New York World’s Fair, he asked his boss, “Can you hire somebody to do all this routine, hometown stuff that I don’t want to do?”

Two weeks later, Mark’s boss brought in a young woman and said, “Mark, this is Margie. She’s going to do all this stuff you don’t want to do.” And that’s how they met.

It was strictly a professional relationship and Margie eventually returned to San Francisco. They lost touch for many years before reconnecting through business trips between the coasts.

Then in 1982, Mark returned from a trip to China and landed in the Golden Gate City. “Margie met me at the airport, and I just found myself looking at her and thinking, ‘Why the hell am I not married to this woman?’”

Mark was very anxious about popping the question to Margie. “I asked her, ‘How would you feel about the possibility of a discussion regarding the possible consideration of a future conversation involving the possibility of...’”

To which Margie interrupted, “What’s this, jet lag?”

“So, we married, and ta-da! Here we are!”

Margie Yamamoto and Mark Hopkins Holding Hands and Laughing

Mark Hopkins Painting Bird

Margie Yamamoto Holding A Book

Today, the liberating Newbury Court lifestyle allows Margie and Mark the time and energy to actively pursue their creative and intellectual endeavors.

“Along with writing, genealogy is one of my passions,” Margie says. “I’m working on my family’s history, which I’ve been doing the whole time we’ve been married, but I’ve never had enough time to devote to doing it properly until now.”

She also continues to volunteer for nonprofit organizations, is involved in various human rights groups, particularly in the Japanese American community, and gives enlightening talks along the East Coast about her family’s WWII experience.

“You’d be surprised, even in California, a lot of people don’t know about it and there aren’t that many of us around who can actually say, ‘I was there.’ It’s been very rewarding, and it means a lot because it has such implications as to what could happen to us here someday again, for another group being targeted.”

She also plays a major role in Newbury Court’s Immigration Project. “It came about through the Diversity and Inclusion Group. This was at a time when there was a lot of political unrest about immigration at our southern border. The group felt very strongly about it. We came up with the idea of a project called ‘We Are All Immigrants.’”

Together, they’ve compiled a book featuring family immigration stories of residents and staff members, whether they’re first generation or came over on the Mayflower. “We have fascinating stories from all over Europe, as well as Africa, Cambodia, Korea and mine from Japan. The books are available in our libraries and we have broadcast some of the stories on our closed-circuit TV channel. It’s fun and includes a lot of people.”

When asked about her philosophy in life, Margie says, “It’s to be involved in things outside of yourself. I find too many people, especially as we get older and have health issues, we get so focused on ourselves and what’s happening to us that we forget there’s a whole world out there.”

“I think this is a big thing that Margie has brought to our marriage,” Mark adds. “That’s affected me a lot too. So, I hand that to her.”

As for Mark, he lectures around the area on seven different topics. He is an award-winning nature photographer and continues to exhibit. He plays in a Renaissance woodwind ensemble with fellow residents, collects antique cutlery, restores photographs and repairs furniture for residents in the Newbury Court woodshop. He continues to write and is publishing a book of cartoons for birdwatchers. In addition, he’s become the go-to guy when someone needs a poster designed, which happens more than you’d think.

“I’ve just completed a project carving life-size tropical birds. They are on display on posts along the outdoor terrace where we gather and have dinner in the summertime.“ And here’s the thing I recently realized,” he adds, “this is the first time since I was in a college fraternity that I feel I’m a member of a real community and it’s really fulfilling. So, hat’s off.”

And when Margie asks him what he loves most, Mark is quick to reply with a twinkle in his eye… “You!”

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Meet Lilian Warner

Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts. A Wesley Seminary educated minister of the United Methodist Church. A lively, bona fide people person.

That’s Lilian Joyce Warner. Named after her beloved grandmother and quick to point out “it’s Lilian with one ‘L’ but you can call me ‘Lil.’ I love being a mother, I love being a grandmother and great-grandmother. And I love being a pastor,” she says with a smile.

She’s just getting started and she lives at Newbury Court. “What drew me here is the nurturing of the whole person—mind, body and spirit. That’s very important to me and I think that’s what sets us apart.”

As Pastor Emerita, she serves all faiths. “I want to be part of the people. What I love about Newbury Court really, is they’ve allowed me to be me. They’ve accepted me with all my idiosyncrasies, and they’ve accepted me with my feeling of love, that’s the most important thing to me.”

“What we have here,” Lil continues, “is a presence of love for people. We're not pushing a faith. We touch each other with words, with music, with a hug, with a moment.”

You see, one of the many great things Lil has helped spread throughout our community is a culture of acceptance, an atmosphere of love and caring. “Not with a lot of fancy words, and dogma and fancy prayers. We’re able to share this core feeling of being a good, loving person and I learn from them and they learn from me. That’s the thing that brings us all together, no matter your faith.”

Lilian Warner and Friend

Lilian Warner Sitting on Couch in a Sunny Room

“We live together. We eat dinner together. We laugh and cry together. We question together. When I first came here more than 11 years ago, several fellow residents didn’t know how to take me because I am a hugger and a very outgoing person.”

“They’d say to me, ‘Well, you don’t act like a minister,’ and ‘What do you think about the fact we don’t want a chaplain right now?’ I’d say, ‘Oh, how about having a friend? ‘Oh, wow,’” they’d respond. “That would be all right. By any chance, do you have a hug?”

“It’s still exciting for me now because of the young pastors we have,” Lil explains. “They’re coming with new things that I don’t know about and I’m able to mentor them with some of the foundations of my 50 years of ministry.”

“But that’s what Newbury Court does. We all make up the one whole foundation of love, care and respect. If you think we’re here just playing bridge and listening to opera, you got another thing coming. We all have so much to give. That’s what makes us strong. It means the world to me.”

Along with spreading her love, Lil also works on the advisory board, counsels those in need and surprises her three sons with her countless new endeavors. People lean on her wisdom. They count on her compassion, and she believes everyone needs to be heard and fights for equal rights.

Her office at Newbury Court is anything but formal as she doesn’t believe in hierarchies. “I’ve said, many, many, many times. I come from a very poor background. I’m the first one in my family who ever went to college. I now sit at the table with people who are lawyers, judges, doctors, teachers and social workers. I’m not interested in their degrees; I’m interested in their stories. I feel like I’m living in a school of lifelong learning. I really do.”

That’s no surprise coming from a woman who’s still knocking down barriers and building up people.

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Meet Jan and Ted Carvalho

Jan Carvalho grew up in Lancaster, New York, a small town about 10 miles from Buffalo. She was the daughter of two teachers and fell in love with the profession at an early age. Ted grew up in Binghamton, New York, the son of a doctor and a nurse.

They met in Potsdam, New York, while both were attending college. Jan went to SUNY, and Ted was studying engineering across town at Clarkson University. One cold winter’s day, both attended a young adult’s program at the Presbyterian church, hoping to meet like-minded people. The two hit it off, and so began their journey.

Their road has had many stops along the way, according to Ted. “I took my wife to Wilmington, DE, to Troy, NY, to Buffalo, NY, to Wilmington again, to Clinton, IA, to Webster, NY, and then Wayland, MA.” After moving to Wayland, Jan put her foot down. “I told Ted, ‘This is the end. You can change jobs as often as you want, but we’re not moving while our three kids are in school.’”

Ted listened, and the two settled down in Wayland with their three children. Jan was an elementary school teacher before having children. Once their children were in school, she returned to teaching, but at the high school level. She spent 24 years teaching “at risk” adolescents, including 10 years in an alternative high school. Ted worked for several Fortune 500 companies, and then started businesses of his own. And Ted had one more project in mind . . . one that Jan wasn’t sure about.

“Ted got this crazy idea that we’d build our own super-insulated, passive solar, timber-framed home—with our own hands,” Jan said with a smile. “I didn’t want to be a house widow, so I had to up my skills.” For almost 10 years, the family worked on their dream home. Ted said, “We’d look forward to the weekend to concentrate on the project. You know, when you’re starting new businesses or new programs at the high school, it’s stressful. But your mind becomes still when you’re doing something else. It was good to have that diversion, to allow the creativity to just mull around in your mind while you’re physically doing something different.”

Jan also grew to love the work. She especially enjoyed carving the mortises and tenons out of the red oak beams that were then held together with wooden pegs. She commented, “At the end of the day, maybe I would have carved one or more beams. Being able to see and feel the day’s accomplishment was a nice balance to the longer-term rewards of teaching.” Together they built a home and a family to be proud of.

Men Holding a Beam

Group of People Constructing a House

Jan Carvalho Carving a Beam

Ted Carvalho Carving a Beam

Group of Men Carving a Beam

The Carvalho House

As the years went by, Ted and Jan continued their love of lifelong learning. Jan is an accomplished needleworker and quilter, creating works of art for her children, grandchildren and even her great-grandchild. In fact, one of Jan’s quilts is proudly displayed in Newbury Court. Ted has many hobbies as well, including a special one he brought with him to the Newbury Court community: ceramics.

It all started in 2001 when Ted took a ceramics class with his oldest daughter. She said, “Dad, you and I are going to learn to throw on the wheel, you’re going to be the token male, and you’re going to drive through a blizzard every Monday morning to get there.” Well, Ted obliged and became so interested in ceramics, he built a 500 square foot addition on the house to set up a pottery studio. “I was wheel throwing, hand-building, making glazes and firing.”

Years later, when they decided to move to Newbury Court, Ted had to figure out what to do with his studio. He wanted to donate it to Newbury Court, but something like that had never been done before. However, at Newbury Court, no project is too big to tackle. With the help of the executive director, the perfect space was found. All it takes is enthusiasm and somebody to say, “Yes, we can do that.” The new pottery studio was installed, a new program was born, and Ted was at the center of the project.

“I set the studio up. The clay and glazes were waiting. But then nothing happened! So we decided to do demonstrations. Two a week, one showing wheel throwing and the other hand building. During one of the sessions, I hand-built a birdhouse, and some residents said, ‘Could you teach us to do that?’” Soon people started packing the demonstrations and the rest is history.

After the birdhouses, we started creating ceramic birds for a display wall and the entire community got involved. “We had templates to make it easy. Suddenly people brought in photos of their favorite birds and we had more than 300 birds from all over the world. We ended up with a beautiful wall mural for the whole community and visitors to enjoy.”

Jan Carvalho Creating Pottery

Ted Carvalho With Ceramic Bowl

Encouraged by the community involvement, Ted was given the idea to create an Empty Bowls project. Ted and fellow residents teamed up with The Umbrella Arts Center to handcraft more than 400 beautiful and creative bowls. At a community-wide Concord luncheon, the bowls were purchased and auctioned off with proceeds donated to Open Table, the local food pantry. It was a huge success and brought the community closer together. Jan says, “Ceramics is not my hobby, but the interaction, helping residents even though they had never done anything like that before, was wonderful. Some people started coming down just to be a part of that interaction.”

In its first year, the Empty Bowls event raised more than $10,000 and more than $14,000 in the second year, making it the most successful fundraising event in Newbury Court history. For Ted and Jan, the money they helped raise is great, but giving back to the community they love and the relationships they built are even better. With more creative projects lined up, the future has never looked brighter for Ted and Jan. The residents of Newbury Court can’t wait to see what comes next.

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Meet Dalton Avery

Born in Brooklyn but spent his early years in Taunton and the southeastern part of the state. Harvard grad. Naval officer. A highly successful career in finance with John Hancock. A proud husband to Noreen for 57 years and a father to three.

Meet Dalton Avery. He’s everything but ordinary and he lives at Newbury Court.

“I went to Harvard College and with a great help of having played football in high school and getting enough of a reputation that they decided I can maybe help them out sometime,” Dalton says. His sense of pride is subtle but clear.

After Harvard, Dalton enlisted in the U.S. Navy and attended officer candidate school in Newport, RI, followed by a two-year stint on a ship in San Diego. “My last year, I was stationed at the naval airbase in Keflavik, Iceland. Which you can imagine, going from sunny San Diego to cold and windy Keflavik was quite the contrast.”

Dalton and Noreen soon married and embarked to Ithaca, NY where he attended business school at Cornell University and Noreen taught elementary education. They were also determined to return to the Boston area. So, after graduation from Cornell, Dalton went to work for John Hancock.

“Eventually in the early 80s, several of us in the investment department were able to convince management to make us a subsidiary with a new name, Independence Investment Associates (IIA), and location to manage the pension and endowment funds. The idea was that if we became a separate entity, it would work better. And it did. It was a good experience.”

He’s also proud of his local roots. “We lived in Belmont and owned three houses over 50 some odd years there. Our three children all went to Belmont schools, Noreen taught in the Burbank school for 20 some odd years while I worked at John Hancock.”

Dalton Avery Standing In Front of Red Wall

View from Art Studio at Newbury Court

Outside of work and raising a family, Dalton has always had an interest in drawing and painting. “After I retired in 2000, I started taking a couple of art classes each semester at the DeCordova Museum School for about eight or nine years. They also offered the opportunity to get your work into juried shows. That added a kind of a competitive element to it, which was enjoyable. It’s always fun to be able to see your name next to the picture up on a wall in a show.”

Drawing and painting continue to be a main interest for Dalton, along with photography, and he’s a regular in the Newbury Court art studio and serves on the art committee. “The art studio is a terrific space,” he adds. “It’s well-lit with a lot of open glass windows that look right down on the river and the marsh below.”

Dalton is also a World War II history buff and a long-standing member of a reading group at the Boston Athenaeum that meets to discuss all aspects of the great war. Then again, he’s always been a passionate reader.

“I just have a great love for books. I love being around them. We have a nice library here. It's well stocked for all tastes.” As co-chair of the library committee, Dalton adds, “It's a lot of fun to meet every month to discuss and select new books to buy. It encourages you to keep up with what is going on in the literary world.”

Like Dalton Avery, there’s just something about Newbury Court that’s unexpected. Dalton continues to achieve, create and give back. He chases his lifelong passions and enjoys the intellectual stimulation around him. He relishes the relationships he’s formed with his creative comrades and neighbors.

Still a finance guy at heart, however, he’s also found the perfect spot to do his taxes—a drawing table in the art studio. “It's a great place to do your tax returns because you can sort of just spread everything out,” Dalton says.

It’s impossible to argue with the matter-of-fact logic of a man who continues to pursue a colorful life.

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