TLCH in the news

Laura Curtis was 99 before she even set foot inside her first Eichler home. That was last year, when she discovered and moved into one of the Terra Linda Christian Homes, a five-household chain of all-Eichler senior-care housing in greater San Rafael.

Last February, when she reached her milestone 100th birthday, Laura celebrated with the five other senior women with whom she lives on Terra Linda's quiet Devon Drive, distinguishing herself and the Eichler community by becoming one of its eldest Eichler dwellers. By the time her autographed plaques of congratulations arrived from President Clinton, Governor Wilson, and even the pope, the celebrities'icing on the cake left her a bit weary from all the hoopla.

"To be honest with you, I'm little sick and tired of being 100," Laura confessed, still feisty and sharp-witted. "It's been a long life alright, and I've had my ups and downs. I had a good husband, and two nice kids, and I've had good health."

Good health is something that Laura and her housemates still have in common. All are ambulatory and are able to live together comfortably and with a degree of independence. Ironically, it was the ailing health of her own parents that led Dolores Moreira, the original owner of the Terra Linda Christian Homes, to establish the care residence back in 1976. Moreira, who had been living in an Eichler with husband, Juan, in Terra Linda, purchased a second one in the early '70s in order to keep the older couple nearby and under her care.

"To save on expenses, I brought in another man to live with them," Moreira recalled. "With the savings, I thought I could hire full-time help. But then I found out that I couldn't move ahead without a license. And during my nine-month wait for the license, my father had passe away."

While caring for her mom, Moreira persevered with her idea, and began expanding, one step at a time. "Back then, I didn't know anything about residential care, but I decided to continue and see what would happen," she said. "I added more beds and all the required safety gear, and started with four people. Then I got a use permit to have six people. And all along the city was delighted to have more residential care for seniors in the area."

Moreira found that the Eichler design meshed well with her new profession. The openness of the plan was a mood enhancer for the seniors, and there were no staircases to impair mobility. The four- and five bedroom models were large enough, with minor modification, to accommodate six seniors and one manager.

"The design advantages were obvious right from the start," she recalled. "All the windows-everything was light and bright, and we added to that with light paint and wallpaper. With the level floors, it was easy for the women to get in and out, even with their walkers, from the house to the garden."

Today, the Terra Linda Christian Homes is comprised of five Eichler care facilities - three in Terra Linda one in Lucas Valley, and one in Marinwood - each providing around-the-clock care to six women. They seem to blend so well with the surrounding neighborhoods, one would have a hard time spotting them from the front without exact addresses. There are no signs at the street, no bursts of activity to draw your attention, and even the faces of the buildings and their foliage are clean and well kept.

In 1993, the Moreiras sold their business to Zina and Valery Gluzman, but maintained ownership of the properties. (They also continue to live in their own Eichler home, in Lucas Valley.) Like Dolores, Zina seems dedicated to providing a clean, comfortable environment for her residents and to maintaining all-important consistency in their lives.

"There are some facilities which are more the owner's home, rather than the residents," Gluzman pointed out in her warm Russian accent. "In our case, this is the ladies' home, it's their home. It's a different mentality.

"Also, we know these women need their routines, and that changes can be stressful. We try to bring consistency into their lives, and make this a family for everyone involved."

When we visited Gluzman and manager Dale Heicher at the Devon house, a few of the women became curious, drawn to us by our camera and questions. We were curious too. The females were here alright, we noted, but where were the males? Apparently, the men were shelved with one of Dolores Moreira's failed experiments back in the 1970s. Chalk it up to incompatibility.

"When I opened my first home, I had wondered why most residential care homes are either all men or all women," Moreira told us. "I thought, 'my goodness, they'd probably both dress up a little more, and feel a little more spry if they had the opposite sex there.' Well, it turned out to be a peculiar thing. The men really had different habits than the women.

"And then I began to find out that, in general, there are fewer men than women that require residential car. Ailing men are usually taken care of by their wives at home, or go directly into convalescent hospitals with illness. But the women live so much longer, they're still around alone for a long time."

Two notable examples are 101-year-old Emily McGowan, who lives inone of the Terra Linda homes, and of course the younger Laura Curtis, who won't reach Emily's mark until February. A native San Franciscan born into a family of seven brothers and sisters, Laura was married for 48 years before she lost her husband in 1968. In her early 70s, she moved to Marin and into Tamalpias Creek, a senior apartment complex. Following an illness and a stay at a convalescent home, she linked up with Zina Gluzman and her staff last year. Today, she is so proud and complimentary of her new home, Gluzman jokingly refers to Laura as her in-house marketing director.

"Oh, Zina's very, very lovely," Laura beamed, as a good marketing rep should. "She wants to do everything to please you. Everything. If there's something that you don't like, you just tell her. All the people here are all very nice and sociable. If you don't care for their company, you can just say 'hello' and 'good-bye.'"

Whether or not Zina Gluzman and her Terra Linda Christian Homes staff realize it, what's especially comforting to the Eichler communities about a senior residency like theirs is how its existence not only perpetuates the Eichler lifestyle, but offers a pleasant transition and home-like surroundings for aging Eichler owners who no longer are able to manage their lives independently. It's what Zina Gluzman likes to call her "homes away form home."

"I had one lady who loved living in one of our Eichler, but her family decided to move her out against her wishes," Dolores Moreira offered on a sad note. "She ended up going on a hunger strike, and died in two weeks. She told everybody if she couldn't live where she had been living, that she just didn't want to live at all."

"I realize that's kind of left-handed compliment," Moreira added, "but when these ladies get into this kind of living, and if the care is right, and the employees are loving and kind, it's really a lovely way to live. Eichlers are the nicest houses for old people to live in."




Terra Linda Christian Homes / TLCH in the news



			TLCH in the news Laura Curtis was 99 before she even set foot inside her first Eichler home. That was last year, when she discovered and moved into one of the Terra Linda Christian Homes, a five-household chain of all-Eichler senior-care housing in greater San Rafael. Last February, when she reached her milestone 100th birthday, Laura celebrated with the five other senior women with whom she lives on Terra Linda's quiet Devon Drive, distinguishing herself and the Eichler community by becoming one of its eldest Eichler dwellers. By the time her autographed plaques of congratulations arrived from President Clinton, Governor Wilson, and even the pope, the celebrities'icing on the cake left her a bit weary from all the hoopla. "To be honest with you, I'm little sick and tired of being 100," Laura confessed, still feisty and sharp-witted. "It's been a long life alright, and I've had my ups and downs. I had a good husband, and two nice kids, and I've had good health." Good health is something that Laura and her housemates still have in common. All are ambulatory and are able to live together comfortably and with a degree of independence. Ironically, it was the ailing health of her own parents that led Dolores Moreira, the original owner of the Terra Linda Christian Homes, to establish the care residence back in 1976. Moreira, who had been living in an Eichler with husband, Juan, in Terra Linda, purchased a second one in the early '70s in order to keep the older couple nearby and under her care. "To save on expenses, I brought in another man to live with them," Moreira recalled. "With the savings, I thought I could hire full-time help. But then I found out that I couldn't move ahead without a license. And during my nine-month wait for the license, my father had passe away." While caring for her mom, Moreira persevered with her idea, and began expanding, one step at a time. "Back then, I didn't know anything about residential care, but I decided to continue and see what would happen," she said. "I added more beds and all the required safety gear, and started with four people. Then I got a use permit to have six people. And all along the city was delighted to have more residential care for seniors in the area." Moreira found that the Eichler design meshed well with her new profession. The openness of the plan was a mood enhancer for the seniors, and there were no staircases to impair mobility. The four- and five bedroom models were large enough, with minor modification, to accommodate six seniors and one manager. "The design advantages were obvious right from the start," she recalled. "All the windows-everything was light and bright, and we added to that with light paint and wallpaper. With the level floors, it was easy for the women to get in and out, even with their walkers, from the house to the garden." Today, the Terra Linda Christian Homes is comprised of five Eichler care facilities - three in Terra Linda one in Lucas Valley, and one in Marinwood - each providing around-the-clock care to six women. They seem to blend so well with the surrounding neighborhoods, one would have a hard time spotting them from the front without exact addresses. There are no signs at the street, no bursts of activity to draw your attention, and even the faces of the buildings and their foliage are clean and well kept. In 1993, the Moreiras sold their business to Zina and Valery Gluzman, but maintained ownership of the properties. (They also continue to live in their own Eichler home, in Lucas Valley.) Like Dolores, Zina seems dedicated to providing a clean, comfortable environment for her residents and to maintaining all-important consistency in their lives. "There are some facilities which are more the owner's home, rather than the residents," Gluzman pointed out in her warm Russian accent. "In our case, this is the ladies' home, it's their home. It's a different mentality. "Also, we know these women need their routines, and that changes can be stressful. We try to bring consistency into their lives, and make this a family for everyone involved." When we visited Gluzman and manager Dale Heicher at the Devon house, a few of the women became curious, drawn to us by our camera and questions. We were curious too. The females were here alright, we noted, but where were the males? Apparently, the men were shelved with one of Dolores Moreira's failed experiments back in the 1970s. Chalk it up to incompatibility. "When I opened my first home, I had wondered why most residential care homes are either all men or all women," Moreira told us. "I thought, 'my goodness, they'd probably both dress up a little more, and feel a little more spry if they had the opposite sex there.' Well, it turned out to be a peculiar thing. The men really had different habits than the women. "And then I began to find out that, in general, there are fewer men than women that require residential car. Ailing men are usually taken care of by their wives at home, or go directly into convalescent hospitals with illness. But the women live so much longer, they're still around alone for a long time." Two notable examples are 101-year-old Emily McGowan, who lives inone of the Terra Linda homes, and of course the younger Laura Curtis, who won't reach Emily's mark until February. A native San Franciscan born into a family of seven brothers and sisters, Laura was married for 48 years before she lost her husband in 1968. In her early 70s, she moved to Marin and into Tamalpias Creek, a senior apartment complex. Following an illness and a stay at a convalescent home, she linked up with Zina Gluzman and her staff last year. Today, she is so proud and complimentary of her new home, Gluzman jokingly refers to Laura as her in-house marketing director. "Oh, Zina's very, very lovely," Laura beamed, as a good marketing rep should. "She wants to do everything to please you. Everything. If there's something that you don't like, you just tell her. All the people here are all very nice and sociable. If you don't care for their company, you can just say 'hello' and 'good-bye.'" Whether or not Zina Gluzman and her Terra Linda Christian Homes staff realize it, what's especially comforting to the Eichler communities about a senior residency like theirs is how its existence not only perpetuates the Eichler lifestyle, but offers a pleasant transition and home-like surroundings for aging Eichler owners who no longer are able to manage their lives independently. It's what Zina Gluzman likes to call her "homes away form home." "I had one lady who loved living in one of our Eichler, but her family decided to move her out against her wishes," Dolores Moreira offered on a sad note. "She ended up going on a hunger strike, and died in two weeks. She told everybody if she couldn't live where she had been living, that she just didn't want to live at all." "I realize that's kind of left-handed compliment," Moreira added, "but when these ladies get into this kind of living, and if the care is right, and the employees are loving and kind, it's really a lovely way to live. Eichlers are the nicest houses for old people to live in."