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JANUARY 2026
Former actress sees big picture
Oak Crest celebrates 30th anniversary By Margaret Foster Oak Crest Senior Living, home to 2,000 residents in Parkville, Maryland, turned 30 years old this year. To celebrate, the Erickson Senior Living community hosted a “Pioneer Brunch” in January, which recognized three residents and six employees who have been with Oak Crest since its opening in 1995. One of those staffers is Laurie Bender, senior sales associate, who started working at Oak Crest six months after it opened. “It’s just the warmest place. People are so kind to each other. It’s very down-to-earth; it’s very welcoming,” said Bender, who helps people move into the community. One resident, Keith Derrickson, said that when he first saw Oak Crest, he thought, “This is like a country club.” The retired music teacher moved in eight years ago and has a packed schedule — clubs, piano concerts, meals with friends. “It’s changed my life, really. I’m not just living a good life, I’m living my best life,” he said.
Built on a quarry Erickson Senior Living debuted its first property, Charlestown, in 1983 in Catonsville, Maryland. The company transformed a historic seminary into a 110-acre retirement community. With Charlestown’s success, the company built Oak Crest on a former sand and gravel quarry in Parkville in 1995. “Oak Crest proved to be equally popular. Available residences filled quickly, and to meet the high demand, construction continued through 1998, when the final residence building at Oak
INSIDE Why move to a life plan community?
Crest opened,” according to Elizabeth Fabiano, spokesperson at Erickson. Today Oak Crest resembles a resort. About 2,000 people live on the 87-acre campus. Ducks, geese and turtles live in Lake Victoria, a pond on the property. Nearby, small gardens are available for residents to grow flowers, fruits or vegetables. In its three clubhouses are nine restaurants, a gym, a pool and libraries. “It’s like a land cruise, with all the amenities,” said Derrickson, 68. “I don’t have to worry about the house anymore — every time I turned around, there was something to be repaired. It gives me time to not just enjoy living here but to volunteer, to do things.” Residents stay involved rather than withdrawing from society. Two programs connect them — in person and as pen pals — with local elementary school students, for instance. They can also hop a bus to go to concerts, museums, Orioles games, White Marsh or the grocery store. On campus, they can play pickleball or bocce, take an art class or swim laps in the pool. In addition to 200 resident-run clubs, Oak Crest has had a thriving scholar’s program since 1997. Residents can take classes on anything from histor y to technology. They held a graduation ceremony last June, attended by none other than John Erickson, founder and chairman of Erickson Senior Living, which now operates 20 properties in 11 states. Appearances like that give Oak Crest a warm, family feel, Bender said. “One of my favorite things are the friendships between the residents and stu-
PHOTO COURTESY OF ERICKSON SENIOR LIVING
Though Kalish now lives in Los Angeles, she was born in Cockeysville and moved to Roland Park with her family when she was five years old. Her paternal grandfather, Howard Simpson, was the last president of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Company. Some of Kalish’s earliest memories are of visiting her grandfather at work. “His office was a train car. I mean, it was so fun to visit him,” Kalish remembered. “We took trains everywhere.” Baltimore is also where Kalish developed her love of dancing. She started taking ballet classes from Ellen Price Eckhardt, a longtime dance teacher who initially ran her dance school at the Church of the Nativity and Holy Comforter in Cedarcroft. In high school at Roland Park Country School, Kalish said she led an effort to
Enter to win a pair of tickets to Rock of Ages at Toby’s Dinner Theatre! See page B-7.
Residents of Oak Crest Senior Living in Parkville, Maryland, attended a gala in March to celebrate the property’s three decades.
dent workers who come after school,” Bender said. “Scholarship money is available to them for college.”
‘Taken care of’ Derrickson, a pianist, has organized benefit concerts to raise funds for those college scholarships for some of the 950 people who work at Oak Crest. Over the years he has raised $130,000 for various causes, he said. “Living here has given me the opportunity to serve and to do things I want to do rather than things I have to do,” Derrickson said. Not everyone chooses to be as busy as
A cozy home with 24-hour care
Derrickson. Oak Crest is a continuing care retirement community with various levels of care, including independent living, assisted living and memory care. Derrickson moved in at age 60 after caring for his homebound elderly mother for two years. “It was exhausting. I wasn’t a doctor; I wasn’t a nurse. I didn’t know how to take care of her. I’m not going to do that to my kids,” he said. “Someday I will need help, and it’s here…I’m taken care of for the rest of my life.” For more information, visit ericksonseniorliving.com or request a brochure by calling (410) 665-2222.
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TERESA CASTRACANE PHOTOGRAPHY
Charm City origins
PHOTO COURTESY OF LEAH KALISH
By Lily Carey Baltimore native Leah Kalish has worn many hats during her career — dancer, actor, yoga instructor, preschool teacher, and now a therapy facilitator. Kalish, who was known as Leah Ayres during her acting career, is most famous for her roles in films like martial arts drama Bloodsport (1988) and horror film The Burning (1981). But Kalish, 68, has always had dreams beyond the big screen. A lifelong dancer who was at the top of her class at Roland Park Country School, Kalish pivoted from dancing to acting after college, and eventually retired from acting to pursue a master’s degree in human development. “I realized, oh, I need to start now putting my energy into something that I want to build and that contributes to the future that I want to see in the world,” Kalish said. Now, Kalish and her husband, Bruce Kalish, work as therapeutic facilitators who focus on “family constellations,” helping people to understand how inherited trauma, or intergenerational trauma that is passed from parent to child, impacts the way they navigate the world. Through all the different stages of her career, Kalish said she’s always aspired to connect with her body, helping herself and others in “integrating mental, emotional, spiritual well-being.”
I N S I D E …
Baltimore native Leah Kalish is perhaps best known for her performance in the 1988 movie Bloodsport. Today she helps people change long-held family dynamics.
establish the school’s first-ever modern dance show. Kalish graduated from high school in three years and attended Tufts University, then transferred to New York University. While she said the city has changed a lot since her childhood, Kalish’s Baltimore roots have always stuck with her. Her mother still lives in Roland Park, and she returns every so often to visit family. “I love going back to Baltimore,” Kalish said. “I ship lots of pounds of Rheb’s chocolate to L.A. every Christmas, because all my friends here can’t wait to get their Baltimore Rheb’s chocolate.”
Accidental actor
After college, Kalish stumbled into acting somewhat by accident, looking for a
way to make extra money while pursuing a career in modern dance. “I just went to this agency and I did an audition, and to me, it was like, no big deal,” she said. “I didn’t grow up watching TV — we loved movies. But I got really into acting, that came after the dancing, and it was a way to make money. I loved it.” Kalish went on to have a successful career in TV and film for more than 20 years. In total, she appeared in seven films and more than 30 TV shows and episodes. But after two decades in the industry, Kalish said she felt like she “needed to evolve” and pursue something more tailored to her passions. See LEAH KALISH, page 13
ARTS & STYLE
A Gaslight adaptation thrills at Everyman Theatre; plus, a doctor publishes her memoir about Baltimore hospitals page 11
FITNESS & HEALTH k Sleep is good for the heart k Foods to eat to glow
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LAW & MONEY k End-of-year giving k Help with college tuition
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