Growing up in the Chicago suburbs, Sharon Silverman was always active. She and her younger sister went roller skating and bike riding. In high school, Sharon played intramural sports, archery and bowling. As an adult, she believes that exercise is key to aging well. Today, she enjoys an active lifestyle at Jenner’s Pond, where she takes classes in functional fitness, tai chi and chair yoga. She plays with the canasta group on Mondays and the mah-jongg group on Wednesdays. She also works in the on-campus boutique, the Heron’s Nest.
“Tomorrow is guaranteed to no one, so take advantage of today to do things that you enjoy,” she advises. “Be able to say ‘no,’ so that you can say ‘yes’ to the things you want to say ‘yes’ to. Be able to find pleasure in each day.”
Riding the railroad
Sharon majored in math at Oberlin College in Ohio, but didn’t want to teach, so she went on to earn a master’s degree in accounting. While she was in grad school, she married Ira, whom she had met at a young adults group run by the Jewish Federation in Chicago. He worked on the Illinois Central Railroad, and the couple honeymooned on a long train ride from Chicago to Los Angeles, then up the coast to Vancouver, across the Canadian Rockies to Banff and, finally, to Toronto.
“I have taken a lot of train rides during my marriage,” she says.
Later that year, the couple moved to Washington, DC, and Sharon finished her degree at the University of Maryland. She got a job with a local accounting firm, at first in auditing and then in the tax department. She took a leave of absence when her daughter was born and then returned to work part-time. During tax season, when she had to put in more time, Ira and her parents helped out. After her daughter and son were in school, she worked more, turning down an opportunity to be a partner in order to maintain work/life balance.
The family lived in Rockville, Maryland, for nearly 40 years. Sharon raised active kids—her daughter enjoyed dance and soccer, and her son played tee ball, baseball and soccer. They vacationed at Cape Cod and many National Parks. There were quiet times, too.
“We all liked to go to the library,” Sharon says. “We did a lot of reading out loud, as I believe books are very important.”
A lot to like
Sharon and Ira looked at retirement community near Newark, Delaware, where their son lives, but the wait list was many years long.
“Someone advised us to start the process early,” she says. They saw an ad for Jenner’s Pond and decided to take a look.
“The campus is beautiful. We wanted a cottage, and it’s very spacious for the size. We could individualize it because they were renovating the cottage before we moved in,” in December 2020. “We picked the one that looks out on Little Jenner’s Run. Sometimes we see foxes in the yard. With all the trees, it’s a very private view.”
She also appreciates the community’s fee-for-service structure. “You pay for what you need rather than pre-pay for something you may never need,” she says.
Call us today at 610-869-6800 or submit the form below to see for yourself why Sharon Silverman and other seniors choose Jenner’s Pond for retirement living.