Facility fulfills wish to reunite sisters, ages 91 and 86, after 5 years apart

NOVI — Carol Timmer, 91, a resident of the Waltonwood Twelve Oaks retirement community in Novi, was reunited with her sister and nieces June 21, thanks to the “Adventures by Waltonwood” program.

The program paid for the airfare of Timmer’s sister, Joy Klomp, 86, to fly in from California to surprise Timmer, and it provided Klomp and her daughters, Denise Lamonte and Karin Sanders, with a two-bedroom apartment to stay in at the facility.

“We had been thinking about coming out here, and then we got this wonderful surprise that Carol had said that was her wish, so they were sending me out here as a gift for her for wishing that she could see me again, and of course I was delighted,” Klomp said while on the verge of tears.

Timmer and Klomp are the last two living of seven siblings. According to Klomp, the siblings used to hold “sisters reunions” at different locations across the country every two years, but because of aging and other issues, the reunions have started to occur less and less frequently. However, Timmer and Klomp would still visit each other in the “off years” when they wouldn’t have a reunion.

“Sometimes families, when you’re living all together, you fight, but we go on a vacation together. We just love each other,” said Klomp.

Timmer had not seen her sister for five years as a result of travel restrictions due to both illness and the pandemic. During that time, one of their other siblings died, and this past December, Timmer lost her husband of 70 years, Russ.

“We had always done everything together,” she said. “Now we just can’t, but we have family and memories.”

The facility said that Timmer had been a bit down since the death of her husband, and she made a wish to see her sister “at least one more time,” during a resident pajama party where the residents each made a wish by a fireplace. According to Timmer’s daughter, Lisa Frens, all of the residents went around and said what was on their bucket list. Frens said that all of the residents at the pajama party voted on whose wish would be granted, and they selected Timmer’s wish.

“When they called and said, ‘We want to fly your mom out to see her sister,’ I thought of it as like a Waltonwood Make-A-Wish,” said Lamonte. “When (Waltonwood) called, I was just thrilled, because our intention was to come, but this was the impetus that got us here.”

Frens said that when they called her, she burst into tears as well, knowing how special it would be to her mom.

Upon arrival at Waltonwood, Klomp and her daughters were brought into the facility by Waltonwood staff. Lamonte said they had just enough time to freshen up before being taken to a private dining room to surprise Timmer. As Timmer made her way down the hallway, she received a large amount of applause from fellow residents. Lamonte said that the residents were just hovering around the dining room waiting for Timmer to be surprised by her visitors. Timmer had been told she was going to go out to dinner at a local restaurant with her children.

“I thought they were waiting for someone else. Somebody more important than I strolling down,” said Timmer. “I thought somebody important was going to be popping out.”

Klomp said it was the first time she had ever been on TV and “probably the last.”

However, the sisters were so engrossed in each other, they admitted they didn’t really notice all the media outlets present for the occasion. Klomp said they are glad to have the world know that they still love each other and they are still together.

“Oh this was a total shock to me,” Timmer said of her surprise reunion. “It was a tremendous surprise. … I was speechless.”

Lamonte said her mom talks to Timmer on a regular basis, but chose not to talk to her after finding out about the pending surprise, as she was afraid she would “spill the beans.”

“It was so awesome. Kind of overwhelming actually,” said Klomp. “She looked at me like, ‘Who are you?’ and then looked back again with a look of shock.

“It’s been a totally delightful experience. It’s been wonderful for Carol and I to get to see each other, but it’s also been that as a family our children have been able to be here and get to know their cousins more,” said Klomp.

Frens said the visit was good for her mom as it allowed her to reminisce about Russ with Klomp, who had known him about as long as she did. Timmer said she started dating Russ when she was in high school. The sisters then recalled the day Russ first came into their lives and took a stroll down memory lane.

“It’s very special to have a sister that’s here,” said Timmer.

The cousins said they really enjoyed planning the surprise and the itinerary for the week. The sisters and their children were able to go shopping together, the cousins visited Meijer Gardens while the sisters reminisced at Waltonwood, checked out the Elvis movie, and concluded their trip with a family barbecue at Timmer’s son’s home.

Adventures by Waltonwood

The Adventures by Waltonwood program debuted across the 12 Waltonwood facilities in January. However, Frens said she believes that the sisters’ reunion was the first event held for one of the residents of the Twelve Oaks facility.

“It’s a new program that is centered around providing our residents with exceptional life experiences,” said Lindsay Charlefour, the director of life enrichment for Waltonwood communities, who created the program.

Life enrichment managers for all of the different areas of living, including independent living, assisted living and memory care, are encouraged to help residents pursue their life’s desire. Since the program launched, the program has helped residents to gain a variety of experiences, including a helicopter ride around Detroit, a trip to the beach, horseback riding, riding a rollercoaster, and even a trip to McDonald’s.

“These are some of the things that some of the residents have asked to do,” said Charlefour. “We just really want to encourage and support that.”

She said they hear about the residents’ wishes through a variety of ways, including from other residents, staff and families. Charlefour said that sometimes they will have boxes available at the facilities where people can write down what their wish is, and sometimes it comes from conversation.

“So as it relates to the sleepover, the slumber party, this came up just in conversation. We hear a resident say, ‘I miss my sister. I really would like to see her again, and she is all the way in California.’ Whatever it may be, that’s kind of like an ‘aha’ moment for us where we’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can make this happen,’ and then we get to work,” said Charlefour. “So there’s definitely a lot of ways that we can make the adventure or experience come together for the resident.”

To make the residents’ wishes happen, the company has compiled a budget for the adventures and also partners with local organizations and companies. Charlefour said that it is primarily funded through Waltonwood; they do not have any grant funding for the program. Charlefour said they try to make as many wishes come true as possible. Since January, Waltonwood has made approximately 12 residents’ wishes or adventures happen. She said the cost of the wishes varies greatly depending on the wish.

“Yes we have a budget, but our company focus is on family and creating these experiences,” she said. “So as many as we can do, we are going to do.”

Charlefour said the program is geared to residents in all stages of life and is not necessarily a person’s last wish.

“It is literally just encouraging our residents to live their best life, and whatever that looks like to them at that moment,” said Charlefour.

She said that sometimes residents think they can’t do something because of physical limitations, and through this program they have been able to show them that there are ways they can still participate in various activities.

“I’m just truly thrilled. Their pictures, their smiles, it’s been absolutely incredible,” said Charlefour. “It’s about creating these moments, and it’s so fulfilling to do that and we love it.”

For more information on the program, or if a business would like to contribute to the program, email Charlefour at lindsay.charlefour@singhmail.com.