Garden of Palms, December 2020: Assisted Living and Memory Care in Los Angeles
by Garden of PalmsOur Activity Directors, Ari and David, are excited to celebrate the holidays. For Hanukkah they have arranged to celebrate each night lighting our hanukkiahs, reciting the blessings, singing special songs, and enjoying fried delicacies that Chef Arie and his staff will prepare. They have also planned for an amazing New Year’s Eve with a Musical Concert and Champagne Toast! We hope the festivities bring much joy and happiness to our community. May the light of the Hanukkah candles light up your life.
Please take a moment to see what is new with us and what we have planned for our beautiful community this December.
Happy Hanukkah
We have lots of themed events to bring in the holiday of Chanukah! On the first night, Thursday, December 10th at 2:00pm, we’ll be having a boisterous party with a Chanukah sing-a-long led by Brett Fromson. We’ll get crafty for Chanukah by making gorgeous decorations and cards throughout the week. We’ll be organizing three dreidel tournaments, play Bingo on Chanukah themed cards for gelt, and challenge ourselves to remember Chanukah trivia. We’ll have menorahs for every resident and we’ll do candle lighting every night around 4:30pm. On Shabbat, however, we’ll light the candles as part of a service led by Rabbi Tewel. We’ll be serving Latkes, Jelly Doughnuts, and other Chanukah favorites several times during the holiday. On the last night of the holiday, we’ll enjoy a more upscale celebration, with a Jewish Violin Concert by Yasha, a longtime favorite at 2:00pm.
Life and Music Biographies
This is one of our resident’s favorite activities. This class takes the opportunity to describe the life of famous musicians, and then play you some of their most popular songs. We have great discussions and reminisce about favorite musicians and music, so join us each Wednesday at 11:00am for the following featured artists: December 2nd The Life & Music of Bing Crosby December 9th The Life & Music of Frederic Chopin December 16th The Life & Music of Debbie Friedman December 23rd The Life & Music of Louis Armstrong December 30th The Life & Music of Antonio Vivaldi
Resident of the Month - Wolf
Wolf was born in the early 1930’s in Czechoslovakia. His parents had moved from Poland to avoid the Polish draft. They had originally been trying for Palestine, but without a Jewish community, they stayed in Cypress instead for twelve years. There they faced a lot of hardship, but they maintained a good living as farmers and managed to live through the Holocaust. Wolf, unlike his namesake, actually cared for the sheep on their farm. He unfortunately had to sleep outside many a night, and never understood why his daughter Sharon ever liked to go camping under the stars - on purpose! Wolf was very smart, and did well in school, graduating as the valedictorian of his class. Cypress at the time was run by the British, so he was heavily influenced by British culture, and has a very British sense of humor.
When Israel became a state, he followed his mother’s wishes and moved to Israel when he was 20 years old.
He signed up for military service, and served on and off for twelve years, eventually moving up the ladder into leadership positions. He saw battle and experienced loss, and even served in the Six-Day War; but by the time he left the service he was emotionally scarred. Alongside his service, he attended the University of Tel Aviv. Education was paramount for him, he valued studying and working hard. Wolf was working for the Geographical Survey of Israel, running the library, when he met his future wife, Hadassa, who worked there as a secretary. They married soon after the Six-Day War, had their first child - Edith - and then moved to New York. They stayed in the Bronx near Hadassa’s brother. Wolf tried to figure out a job, but there were not a lot of opportunities for a geographer from Israel. So he took up computer classes, and successfully transitioned to work in the computer science field. Seven years later Wolf and Hadassa had their second child, Sharon. Wolf always prioritize learning, and was a lifelong learner and polyglot, being able to speak nine languages! Thanks to his geographical training, Wolf loves to study maps, practice navigation, and go out to explore. He loves to travel and explore beautiful places, so the family would go on lots of road trips.
In 1981 Wolf and his family moved to northern California, where they bought a house and lived there for over thirty years.
It was near Walnut Creek, and was a great spot for hiking and enjoying nature. Speaking of nature, Wolf loved gardening, and cultivated a backyard filled with fifteen fruit trees in addition to a vegetable garden. Wolf and Hadassa had been very similar in that their families had a strong Jewish identity. He and his wife went to Torah classes every week, and at one point he became more involved in the synagogue and started laining! This was a big accomplishment, since Wolf was naturally shy, and he worked to overcome his shyness by putting himself in situations where he had to practice sociability. All his life, he was straight as an arrow, scrupulously honest and meticulous, and focused on giving to various charitable orgs. He was extremely hospitable to guests, and very generous; especially considering the poverty he grew up in. People returned the favor to him as he got older, such as his friend David Shadovich, who would come every Shabbas weekly and talk about Cypress and Wolf’s favorite subject, World War II. To this day, Wolf focuses on gratitude, and we are very happy to have him at Garden of Palms!
Our Staff Spotlight is on Adriana Calderon Lopez this December!
She is one of our long time caregivers, having worked at Garden of Palms for eight years! She enjoys being able to help residents, and we appreciate her for her loyalty and care. Her life philosophy that she lives by is, “I like to treat others as I want them to treat me”, and it has always served her well. Adriana grew up in Morazán, Yoro, which is in the country of Honduras. She came to Los Angeles in 1998, and two years later had a baby boy, Mykey. She has since raised him and he is pursuing his own life as a twenty year old. She enjoys the culture and many avenues of enjoyment that Los Angeles offers, and in her spare time she loves to go out with her friends, watch movies, and have a good time.
Garden of Palms
Assisted Living in Los Angeles
We love running and planning Garden of Palms, because our residents and their family continue to tell us how happy they are with us part of their lives. When we hear that we’re providing a happy, healthy, and safe environment for seniors in Los Angeles, we know we’re succeeding in our purpose.
If you’re exploring assisted living programs in the Hollywood area for a family member, we would love the chance to show what life at Garden of Palms is all about. You can tour our community, meet our staff, and get acquainted to see if we’re what you’re seeking. If you need a bit more information first, we encourage you to speak with our director who can answer all of your questions.
1025 North Fairfax Avenue.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
Phone: (323) 656-7900
Email: director@gardenofpalms.com