Wichita Presbyterian Manor
Moments define a life FEBRUARY 2022
Resident’s life bracketed by the sports he loves For most of his life, Lyle “Dean” Murphy has enjoyed athletic pursuits. The Lawrence, Kan., native and longtime resident of Wichita Presbyterian Manor “couldn’t have been more than 10” when he started playing baseball. He played on a Junior Legion team until the age of 17. After that, Dean suited up for the semiprofessional teams the Lawrence Colts (“I sat on the bench for a year”) and the Lawrence Merchants. On one memorable occasion, the Merchants manager, a well-known local baseball player, asked him to pitch. The only problem? Dean was an outfielder, and he threw a lot of balls.
Dean Murphy and his greatgrandson Scottie after playing a round of golf.
As it happened, Dean’s older brother was the catcher. He was more annoyed by Dean’s poor performance than their genial manager, who trotted out to the mound to pull the outfielder from the game. “With a smile on his face, he said, ‘Here Dean, I’ll take the ball,’” Dean recalls.
As a child, Dean played softball at school and baseball in the Junior Legion league.
His baseball career didn’t end when he enlisted in the Air Force — Dean played on the team at Larson Air Force Base, where he was stationed before serving overseas. They competed against teams representing other military bases in Washington as well as Hill Air Force Base in northern Utah.
Murphy – continued on page 2
By Greg Schmidt, Chaplain
NOTE: Each month, we feature a column from one of PMMA’s community chaplains in honor of our faith-based roots. This month, we’re featuring Greg Schmidt, chaplain for Heart & Soul Hospice in Wichita and Newton Presbyterian Manor. Have you noticed that every Hallmark movie follows the same basic algorithm? Here’s how it goes: A princess-damsel presents with some sort of professional or social dilemma. In walks a socially awkward, wannabe prince-hero who demonstrates the desire to provide support or answers. His advances are, of course, rebuffed. A second “Captain Obvious” prince-snob rises to the challenge, but in his rush to care for the princess, manifests an arrogant, superior, you-know-youneed-me spirit. While at first the princess foolishly longs for the attention of Captain Obvious, ever so slowly over the course of the movie she falls in love with Mr. Wannabe’s cute little nerdy self. They finally kiss (it never happens until the end). The rocket’s red glare engulfs the sky. And they live happily ever after in Mayberry. Or is that Whoville? My response to Hallmark’s oversimplification is best stated by Remy, the Disney character in the movie “Ratatouille” who said, “The only thing predictable about life is its unpredictability.” Real life is not simple. Or predictable. It has to be understood over the course of years,
Memories – continued on page 3
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Murphy – continued from page 1 During his golfing career, Dean shot a couple of hole-in-ones. He both made a hole-in-one and shot his age during during a 2014 round at Sim Golf Course.
After his military service, Dean returned to Lawrence to work with his father, who owned a farm implements business. After two years of studying business at the University of Kansas, Dean took a job with a company that soon asked him to transfer to either Kansas City or Wichita. That’s what brought Dean to south-central Kansas in 1958. He went on to work for Farmers Alliance Insurance, then Ohio Casualty. For a few years, Dean and a friend were partners in an auto shop business. That’s when he began playing a new sport: golf.
While stationed at Larson Air Force Base near Moses Lake, Washington, Dean played for the baseball team on base. During his year in Seoul, he won the base horseshoe pitching championship.
As a child, Dean and his brother would hunt for lost golf balls around the course near their home outside Lawrence. At the golf course owner’s insistence, they sold their spoils directly to the owner, who resold them to players at a profit. The brothers earned pocket money that way until they were old enough to do farm work. As an adult, golf “was a way to get away from the job for a little bit,” Dean said. “The people I played with were all in body shops or insurance, and of course we always had a few friendly bets on how the game would come out.”
courses that were once used for the Bob Hope Desert Classic. Dean, who has been a member of the Presbyterian Manor community for seven years, still plays a round occasionally, though less and less. He has enjoyed playing with his greatgrandson Scottie, who, like Dean, is a baseball player and left-handed golfer. “It’s a game you can play from nine to 90,” he said. u
He took several golf trips with friends, including to Palm Springs, where they played all four Dean with his late wife, LaVonne. Like us on Facebook to stay updated on news and events.
Community Matters 316-942-7456 ◆ Fax: 316-941-3806 4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 WichitaPresbyterianManor.org
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is published monthly for residents and friends of Wichita Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America, Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
To submit or suggest articles: awatson@PMMA.org Amy Watson, life enrichment dir. Courtney Wolfe, executive director Stephanie Bergmann, marketing dir. Cherree Hudspeth, health care sales and marketing
OUR MISSION: To provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. COMMUNITY MATTERS | February 2022
Annual Art is Ageless® call for entries underway at Wichita Presbyterian Manor Calling all artists age 65 and older. Wichita Presbyterian Manor is now accepting entries for the annual Art is Ageless® juried exhibit and competition at the campus, 4700 W. 13th Street, Wichita, Kan. The exhibit is scheduled for March 14 – 31, 2022. Entries of artistic works will be accepted from any area artist who is 65 years of age or older to exhibit and/or compete for an opportunity to be featured in the 2023 Art is Ageless calendar. Due to the uncertainty created by
COVID-19, Wichita Presbyterian Manor plans to hold its event virtually for friends of the program on the community’s Facebook page, and to announce winners during a Facebook live event. Works will be on exhibit at the community for residents only.
categories, as well as designations of amateur or professional. Works to be entered for judging need to be at Presbyterian Manor by March 10.
Artists may choose to enter works for exhibit only. For the competition, the artist must have been 65 at the time of creation and have completed the work in the past five years (since January 2017). There are nine
To arrange drop-off of artwork, obtain entry forms and information, contact Amy Watson at 316-942-7456, awatson@pmma.org or visit ArtIsAgeless.org.online at ArtIsAgeless.org. u
Memories – continued from page 1 memories here! And guess not moments. Who knew that the trick to life is living long enough to view unpredictability as your friend? Having said that, it is the “moments” – all added together – that define the life! When family and friends gather for funeral or memorial services, they recount a lifetime of moments otherwise known as “the dash.” The “dash” is that symbol on a tombstone that is centered between the birth and the death. I’m sure your family is like mine and exactly what we remember about someone’s “dash” may differ from person to person, which makes total sense to me, since none of us approach the exact same story or experience at the exact same time, perspective or history. For example, seven members of my wife’s family tried to remember their Grandma Honey’s Christmas tree. We’re talking about 30 to 50-year-old
what? There were seven strongly held “I specifically remember …” perspectives. Some remembered a silver tinsel tree illuminated by a multi-colored rotating disc (ahh, the 60s!). Still others remembered a pink flocked tree (ahh, the 70s!). Who was right? They all were! What had to be figured out was what time period was being remembered and/or discussed, because at some point throughout their collective childhood experiences she had both! The greatest joy of being a Hospice Chaplain and a Heart & Soul Hospice Team member is helping families remember – and celebrate! – their loved one’s “dash”! When disputes arise among family members, I try and remind those willing to listen that it really doesn’t matter who is “right” … and that it’s still quite possible no one is “wrong.” Why? Because our memories are about what is
precious and inspirational to us individually! Such memories become our foundational and motivational reflections about those we’ve loved. Why is that important? Because all of us want our lives and the lives of those we’ve loved to matter! We want our cherished memories to be about living, not dying … even … or especially when … we’re dying! So, we search for joy and seek to eradicate pain! We look for promise and hope and peace. And, even when we’re vulnerable, we open our lives to unpredictable people, places, and things hoping they’ll enable us to look up and onward to the things that last forever! Just like in a Hallmark movie when everything turns out for the greater good in the end, so goes the life of promise found in God and in the love found in His people! NEVER let love die! Find joy in other people’s memories! Give it away! Daily! u
Wichita Presbyterian Manor | A PMMA COMMUNITY
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4700 W. 13th St. Wichita, KS 67212-5575 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED
Wichita campus shares resident survey results Wichita Presbyterian Manor continues to seek customer feedback through monthly telephone surveys. Each month, residents and their representatives are randomly selected to participate in telephone satisfaction surveys conducted by Pinnacle Quality Insight. The graphic, to the right, highlights some of the survey results. All scores are given on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the highest score and 1 the lowest score. Between December 2020 and November 2021, Wichita Presbyterian Manor residents and their families gave the community high scores in offering safety and security, cleanliness, transportation needs and demonstrating dignity and respect.
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“What is most important to me is that as I start to age, I know that I will be taken care of, and I do not have to worry,” one respondent said.
We greatly value the opinions of our residents and their representatives about the care and services we provide, and we encourage them to participate Another respondent said, “I would say honestly when contacted by that I think the safety of living here is a big Pinnacle Quality Insight. All state factor. The friendliness and the staff being and federal confidentiality laws are eager to please are things I appreciate.” met in Pinnacle’s service. u
COMMUNITY MATTERS | February 2022