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Weems reflects on 27 years with dept. for elderly years ago

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Noreen Weems is retiring this month from her position as director of the Marion County Department for Elderly.

Weems will turn 65 in June and has served in the position for almost 27 years. Prior to that, she served seven years as director of Marion County Emergency Preparedness.

In her new role, Weems adopted a philosophy of service for all. In addition to providing support for the senior citizens organization and the 11 senior centers scattered throughout the county, she worked to help individual seniors who were in need.

Whether it was someone in need of weather-proofing for their home, assistance in obtaining drug prescriptions, a ride to the doctor, or numerous other things, Weems was there to make sure the individual's need was met, even if it meant sacrificing some of her own time.

Weems maintains a close relationship with the board of directors. Each member is special. She has had a long working relationship with current chairman, Ed Winter of Hillsboro, who has worked in the county's senior citizens organization in various capacities for 30 years.

Winter is unable to actively serve at this time due to health issues. Estelle McCarty, Marion, vice chairman, is serving in his place.

Other 2007 board members are Wanda Fox, Lehigh; Kathryn Heinrichs, Hillsboro; Wanda West, Durham; Margaret Jirak, Tampa; Adeline Bernhardt, Tampa; Marlene Anduss, Ramona; Irvin Goertzen, Goessel; Arlene Unruh; Peabody; Evelyn Sidener, Burns; and Betty Ireland, Florence.

Department secretary, Lanell Hett, has been Weems' right-hand man for almost as long as she has been at the helm. May 2 is Hett's 25th anniversary on the job.

"You could say longevity and lasting relationships are what the Marion County Department for Elderly is all about," Weems said. "It has been a joy and delight having Lanell as my co-worker. We have been here for each other even as we serve others."

Hett arranges transportation trips and coordinates with volunteer drivers and others. She attends transportation committee meetings and provides reports to Kansas Department of Transportation.

Virginia Downing joined the department in 1993 or 1994, first as case manager for SRS services, now as representative for SCHICK (Senior Citizens Health Insurance Counseling for Kansas).

Downing assists individuals with many services including filing income taxes, finding low-cost or no-cost prescription drugs, and obtaining vital home improvements — saving them hundreds of dollars in the process.

Weems served for 15 years on the advisory council of the Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging. She is grateful for the support and training workshops provided by the agency.

She is concerned that countywide services be maintained after she leaves. The amount of available funds varies from year to year.

"There probably are more issues of concern today than when I started," she said. "People are living longer and more individual services are available."

Weems is thankful the USDA's food commodities program has been approved for another year.

"I'm appreciative of all the people at all the senior centers who do the service of distributing commodities," she said.

She sees the home-delivery friendship meals program as vital to giving shut-ins well-balanced meals and social contact. Hospice services provide additional care for people who need it, whether it be in their own homes or a nursing home.

Weems meets with the board of directors and other supporting personnel at a different senior center each month. On May 18, her last day on the job, they will meet at the community building in Durham.

A retirement party is being planned for Weems May 10 at Marion Senior Center.

Weems has seen some changes in her 27 years as director. At the time the senior citizens organization came into being, less women worked outside the home and more were available for volunteering.

Now, many people don't get involved in senior centers until they are 70 years old or more. More women work and more of them work past retirement age.

Preserving history

Weems hopes the history of the organization, senior centers, nutrition sites, and area agency on aging will be preserved.

Marion County was one of the first Kansas counties to receive funding for a senior citizens organization. It came in 1960 in the form of a grant from the Ford Foundation.

The organization was known as Golden Years Inc. of Marion County. It had a 12-member board of directors, four from each of the county commissioner districts.

In 1975, nutrition sites were established in Hillsboro, Peabody, Goessel, and Marion.

In 1977, voters approved a tax "not to exceed one mill" to support a Department for Elderly. By that time, the newly-named Senior Citizens of Marion County organization was getting ready to celebrate 20 years of existence.

Weems was interviewed by the board of directors and hired by the county commission in 1980. (One of those commissioners, Harold Jost of Hillsboro, is still living.) She took office Aug. 1. Five months later, her department moved from the courthouse annex into offices in the new Marion Senior Center.

At that time, preparation of home-delivered fellowship meals, now known as friendship meals, was moved from Hilltop Manor to the senior center.

Weems worked to obtain grant money to assist the various senior centers within the county. She also helped senior citizens file homestead, food and sales tax rebate forms, and simple income tax returns.

Weems is spending every spare minute going through her files to determine what needs to be kept for her successor and what can be disposed of. She is compiling historical documents, such as board meeting minutes, into one file.

Looking forward

Weems said she has enjoyed her work but it is time to retire. She is following the advice her mother, Sarah Albright, gave before she died in December: "Stop playing while you're having fun."

She also told her it was important to have more time to spend with her husband.

And that is what Weems is planning to do. She and Melvin "Mick" live northeast of Peabody and own a quarter section (160 acres) of land which is dedicated to wildlife. They want to plant more trees there and just enjoy the natural habitat.

They also want to spend more time in Colorado, where they have a small home in Saguache. They like to hunt — "I'd like to get an elk" — and take trips through the mountainous terrain with their ATVs. They have friends in Saguache and want to be more active in the church and community.

"So many mountains to cross over and so little time," she sighed.

The couple plans to spend a month traveling, including a trip to Portland, Ore., where their daughter, Sandra Watson, lives.

They are looking forward to spending more time with the rest of the family, as well.

Son Darren and his wife Annette of Peabody have three active children: Jarred, 18, a senior; Garrett, 15, a freshman; and Ashley, 12, a sixth grader.

Granddaughter Amanda and her husband Justin Westerfield live in Kansas City and have a two-year-old daughter.

Weems hasn't lost sight of the fact that she herself is a senior citizen and needs to be actively involved in community activities.

"I promised Mick I'd take a year or two to get caught up with "honey-do" jobs, but then I want to do volunteer work," she said.

She also wants to be more involved in her local United Methodist Women's group.

"I truly will miss all the seniors and activities, and I'm looking forward to visiting and taking part in those activities," she concluded.

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