Judy Sturgeon has always believed in staying active—body, mind, and spirit. So when she and her husband, Reed, moved to The Plaza by Vivie, she wasn’t looking to slow down. She was looking for connection, community, and the support to keep living fully. That’s exactly what she found.
“I realized I was lonely, but I didn’t realize how lonely,” Judy says. “And how much fun it is to be around people again.”
At The Plaza, those connections come naturally. Judy has found a rhythm in the community, joining in on everything from an art group and motion class to bingo and happy hour—always surrounded by neighbors who are walking a similar journey. “There is so much going on and so much camaraderie,” she says. “And everybody helps everybody.”
She especially values the balance of structure and freedom. “They have an enormous amount of different activities,” Judy says. “It keeps me busy and happy.”
She also finds meaning in Donuts and Devotions, a weekly group that brings residents together to reflect and pray. “I'm very spiritual, very faith based as a person,” Judy says. “It feels very safe and secure, and we just share our love for the Lord and how we can keep growing in our spiritual life.”
As a former aerobics instructor and someone who’s always been “health minded and exercise minded,” Judy felt right at home in The Plaza’s wellness center. After a recent surgery, it played a key role in her recovery. “The physical therapist released me from my back surgery, I had recovered enough that I wouldn't need them anymore,” she says. “And then Lori [at the wellness center] also knew what my challenges were, and she knew right where to start me on everything.”
She and Reed both use the wellness center regularly. “My husband has a really bad back also, and he comes to the fitness center every other morning,” she says. “We like being here for that convenience too. We don’t have to get in a car and drive somewhere.”
The ability to maintain independence—and know that more help is available if ever needed—is something Judy doesn’t take for granted.
“Right now we're in independent living and able to care for ourselves. But maybe in the future we will need help, and we feel like it will be available to us while we're here.”
That sense of security matters not only to Judy and Reed, but to their whole family. “All of our children and grandchildren are happy that we're happy,” she says, “and that we have everything here that we are going to need to care for us. They don't have to worry about us.”
Faith, friendship, and peace of mind—for Judy, life at The Plaza brings it all together.
“We have all sorts of things we can do here, and we have people around us, so it's wonderful,” she says. “I feel extremely blessed.”