Jubilee Newsletter:
Spring & Summer 2007
 Jubilee Residents at Work
Tony and Bonny Hawkins, Laura and Barney Ruelas,
and Richard Mills join fellow 9 to 5’ers
George Goumas, Ree Fletcher, and Gloria
Schwartz at the Lodge after the workday.
Some people may think of moving into a
55 plus community after they retire, but
more and more active adults are choosing
them prior to retirement because of
the spirit of community they inspire.
Case in point, Jubilee resident, Bonnie
Hawkins, works for the State of
Washington in the Department of Social
and Health Services. Since 1989, she’s
worked there as a manager, setting rates
for long term care and assisted living
facilities in the state.
An Olympia native, one of the reasons
that Bonnie and her husband chose their
home at Jubilee is its proximity to her
job – it’s a short 15 minute commute. But
the primary reason they chose Jubilee
is one most people do, retired or not.
“Jubilee is definitely young at heart;
there are a lot of great, active people
who live here,” says Bonnie. “My husband and I pick
and choose which social activities we participate in. It
would be impossible to do everything even if we were
retired. And we love the Lodge – we use it every day.”
Laura and Barney Ruelas also initially chose Jubilee
because of its location. “My husband and I are sales
representatives. I’ve worked for Teleflora for eight
years and love helping florists with their businesses,”
says Laura.
She and her husband moved to Jubilee from Stanwood,
Washington. “Because we have accounts in
Oregon and Washington, Jubilee is the perfect starting
off point. Plus, we liked the idea of someone else
maintaining our yard,” says Laura. For two personable
sales people, Jubilee’s social calendar has been
an added bonus. “We’ve made more friends here in 2
years than in 38 years of marriage. Every place you go
people wave. It’s a welcome change from those neighborhoods
where the most you see of your neighbors is
their garage doors going up or down.
Retiring is something familiar – if not completely comfortable
to Ree Fletcher. She retired, moved to Jubilee,
and then began working part-time as a bank teller at
Bank of America. “I don’t have grandkids and I don’t
golf so, I just wanted something to keep me a little
busier. I only work about 10 hours a week.” That’s not
to say that she isn’t busy enough at Jubilee. A member
of the Current Events Club, she enjoys giving something
back to the community while keeping up-to-date
on what’s going on in the world.
This is a second “failed” attempt at retirement for Ree.
“I directed a volunteer program in Everett and then
raised horses,” she explains.
Rich Mills is national sales manager for Tesoro Refining
and Marketing. He’s lived at Jubilee for three years
and married Diane last November. While driving to
and from work each day can be a challenge to his
social calendar, he still loves the close friendships he’s
developed at Jubilee and likes that Diane has made
friends as well so that she can socialize when he’s on
the road. “My wife appreciates that she’s been able to
make friends here so quickly,” notes Rich.
However, Rich won’t be missing out on the fun for
long. He acknowledges that he’ll likely be retiring in
“one or two years.” After all – why work when staying
home is so much fun?
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