22 January 2023
| In recognition and celebration of our 60th anniversary, Silvera interviewed a variety of individuals to learn more about the remarkable people who make up and contribute to our organization – employees, residents, board members, donors, volunteers, and more. These individuals are true “Silvera Diamonds” – as strong and resilient as our organization over the past six decades. Thank you to each of you who help to make us what we are. Here’s to another 60 years!
When Gee and George decided it was time to move out of their large, two-storey house into a home that was easier to navigate, they didn’t have to go far. In January 2022, the long-married couple chose Westview Town Suites, about a 15-minute walk from the house they lived in for 53 years. “Our sons were worried about us because George has some trouble getting around now,” Gee explains. “We were out walking in the neighbourhood one day and saw the [Westview] building that had just been renovated. We eventually decided to move in. Westview is such a warm, friendly place, it feels like home.” George came to Canada from Canton, China in 1948 and worked in his father’s Chinese food restaurant in the tiny town of Carbon, Alberta. In 1957, Gee and George married in China and returned to live in Carbon. They met many friends in the farming community and stayed a decade before moving to Calgary in 1967 and buying a grocery store. George eventually became a realtor until his retirement in 2000. Adjusting to life in a different home with other people around has not been without its challenges, but Gee has learned to embrace it. “Day by day, you get used to it. Everybody here is very loving and I’m happy,” she says. Gee enjoys taking part in the Life, Learning and Leisure programs offered at Westview, including shuffleboard and bowling. “I can still bend and walk, and I like to do Tai Chi or other exercises. It keeps me young!” She also does a lot of reading, and sometimes still plays Mah Jong with old friends. She and George acted as Westview Resident Ambassadors, helping with the grand opening of the neighbouring Westview Residence West building last spring. On nice days, Gee still walks through the neighbourhood where she’s lived for more than five decades, sometimes going by her old house and chatting with the new owners about the yard. “We have always loved living in Glamorgan and it’s good to still be here,” Gee says. |
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