In This Issue:

• Resident Easter and April Fool's Day Memories
• Volunteer Appreciation Week
• Chaska Staff Spotlight on Randy Borka
• Manor Resident Quality of Life Survey Results
• Friends of Auburn Spring Plant Sale
• Waconia Staff Spotlight on Ashley Seaver
• Lynn Haering, Auburn Home's Social Services Director, to Retire
• Spring Time is Cleaning Time
• April Resident Activities
• The Pastor's Corner with Reverend Cathy Kolwey
• Holy Week Services
• April Staff Birthdays and Anniversaries

Resident Easter and April Fool's Day Memories

Our residents reminisced about their favorite Easter memories as well as some unforgettable April Fool's Day pranks!

Ralph ~ "We wore our best Sunday clothes to go to Easter service."

Jeanne ~ "My grandparents hid our eggs in New Auburn; we had miles to run."

Shirley ~ "Hiding Easter eggs outside for the kids to find; rain or shine, we always hid the eggs outside."

Pauline ~ "One year, My husband and I were in charge of the Good Friday Easter egg hunt at the club; we were to hide Easter eggs on the 18th green. It was nice outside so we went to play cards; before long the weather turned so bad that all the roads were closed due to 3 feet of snow! Needless to say, we never hid the eggs."

Diana~ Diana is an April Fools Baby. One year, someone wrapped a present in really nice paper for her April Fools Birthday and when she opened it, it was filled with rocks.

Mary Lou ~ Every year Mary Lou’s husband played an April Fools’ Day joke on her and every year she fell for it; from looking out the window to see if there were horses running in the yard to checking if there was a herd of cattle in the field.

Rita ~ Every year Rita would sew Easter outfits for all her children. They would hide a golden egg with $5 in it.

Rose Marie ~ "Hiding the Easter eggs for the kids, getting a new dress with an Easter bonnet for church and colored chickens!"

Joann ~ "Just Eat."

Maxine ~ "Going to White Plains, NY, with my husband and kids for Easter and spending time with family; we all had something special to wear and Easter bonnets."

Iris ~ "Hard boiled eggs and hid Easter baskets. Everyone would run around looking for their Easter basket. One year they didn’t find one right away and there was a smell in the house."

Roger ~ "Going to St. Peter Lutheran church in Carver with my 5 siblings; I was the oldest. We all wore our best clothes."

Kitty ~ "Easter meal and an Easter egg hunt."

"Red" ~ Hiding Easter eggs in the basement and watching the kids hunt for eggs in the park in Waconia".

Don (told a joke instead of sharing a memory) ~

"Man: Nice jacket, I like it.

Me: Thanks!

Man: If you ever throw it, throw it my way."

Mary ~ "My grandkids would come over on Easter and climb the tree in my front yard and get their picture taken."

Beth ~Taped quarters to Easter eggs and had an egg hunt at the cabin.

 Vangie ~ "Family gathered at her house after church, they had a traditional Easter meal and an Easter egg hunt."

April 16 to the 23^rd is National Volunteer Appreciation Week

Auburn Homes and Services would like to take this time to honor and thank our volunteers. From individuals that have been with us a short time to those who have been with us a dozen years or more, each volunteer brings something special to the Auburn community. Thank you to all our volunteers!

Chaska Staff Spotlight on Randy Borka



Job title: Maintenance Director

Years at auburn 13 years

Key responsibilities-Keeping building maintained

Family- Wife Pam, Son Tyler, Daughter Breanna and my dog Bentley

Pastime- doing projects around home, taking my dog Bentley for walks exploring new parks.

Favorite Travel- Florida

Retire- Hope to be living somewhere warm, where a SNOW shovel is not a necessity.

"Enjoy visiting with the residents, and working with my work family

Auburn is a great place to be a part of. I’m blessed to be part of a great organization."

Resident Quality of Life Survey Conducted at Auburn Manor

Auburn Manor recently received the results from a resident "Quality of Life" survey that was conducted in the Fall of 2022 by the MN Department of Human Services; we are pleased to share that Auburn Manor received a B grade from our residents.

The survey conducts face-to-face interviews with our residents about their quality of life; questions asked include food enjoyment, meaningful activities, caregiving, environment, dignity, autonomy and relationships. This survey is helpful for us to recognize not only the great service we are providing, but also areas for improvement. If you have any questions regarding the survey, please contact Jennifer Hall, Skilled Nursing Administrator, [email protected]

Friends of Auburn Spring Plant Fundraiser

It's that time of year again! Time to support AHS by ordering plants from our Friends of Auburn Spring plant sale!

Click on the link here and enter our store ID Code 804 for the selection of seeds and plants available to order.

Would you like to make an additional plant or monetary donation to beautify our resident gardens? If so, please reach out to Ellen at 952.361.0309 or [email protected].

Thank you for your support for the Friends of Auburn Spring Plant Sale!

Waconia Staff Spotlight on Ashley Seaver

Name: Ashley Seaver

Job Title: Social Service Assistant

Key Responsibilities: Visiting residents, forming relationships with them and their families. Completing assessments/MDS. Assisting with admissions and getting residents ready to return home.

Family: Fiancé Andy, we get married in September! Our dog Charlie and cat Gus Gus 

Favorite Past-time: Traveling, being outdoors, helping on the farm, spending time with my family and friends.

Favorite Travel Destination: Anywhere with mountains to hike and a beautiful view!

When I Retire: Spend my days doing whatever I want!

"I started working at Auburn Home in Waconia in February of 2020. The things I enjoy about working at Auburn is the atmosphere and the people I work with. I love visiting with the residents and hearing about the experiences of their lives and getting to know their families. They can brighten up any cloudy day with a witty joke or good one-liner, & they’ve been known to teach me a thing or two about life."

Lynn Haering, Auburn Home's Social Services Director, to Retire

Lynn Haering, our wonderful social services director at Auburn Home in Waconia, is retiring after 36 years with the company. Lynn started her career in skilled care working at Nightingale nursing home in 1986. She wrote policies and producers for each department in the nursing home, was the social services designee, worked in the business office and was the temporary administrator. Lynn left her position at Nightingale and moved to Oregon with her family for a year. In that year, Auburn Homes & Services purchased the Nightingale nursing home in downtown Waconia. When Lynn moved back to the area, she was hired as the social services director and has been with the organization ever since. In 2008, when Auburn Home was built, Lynn packed up her office and moved with us to our current location on Cherry Drive. As the social services director Lynn has met with countless families, handled many resident admissions and discharges and helped numerous families navigate the ins and outs of skilled nursing care.

Lynn will be retiring on April 18th and Ashley Seaver will be taking over as the social services director at Auburn Home. Lynn plans to take some time for herself when she retires. She is looking forward to riding her bike, gardening, camping trips, traveling, hanging out with friends, reading books, checking out the Arboretum and spending time with her husband and 2 daughters.

Lynn said she is blessed to work with the best staff in the world and will miss all the hardworking dedicated people. “When you work for a nonprofit the people are so giving, dedicated to the residents and will do whatever it takes to make their lives better and I will miss that.” Lynn said she will miss working with the residents and families and helping people navigate through a difficult time in their life, but also feels very blessed that she was the one who was able to help them.

Congrats Lynn. You will be missed.

Forecast for April is for an unprecedented amount of snow, more than has ever been recorded in the Farmer's Almanac for the month of April. Snow plow drivers have been given a heads up to not plan any vacations or time off in April due to the large amounts of plowable snow we are expected to receive; analysts are forecasting up to 3 feet of snow in the first week alone! It's a good thing that this is an April Fool's Day Joke! :)

Check out your resident's April Activities Calendar to see which ones are available to them by clicking on the appropriate link below:



Auburn Home, Auburn Meadows, Auburn Reflections,

Auburn Manor,  Auburn Courts, Auburn Courtyard

Well, we made it through Lent … WHEW.

Lent is an important time to remember the suffering and sacrifice, but it can also be exhausting. Here at Auburn, we have celebrated the Lenten season in a number of different ways. Some of our bible studies have spent Lent using the Stations of the Cross (from artist Julie Lonneman) to reflect on Jesus’ journey. Others have been using Taize meditations to guide our chapel time together. And to be honest, even with new Lenten themes, March has still seemed loooooooong.

And our attentiveness to the suffering of a Lenten journey softens our hearts to the suffering of the world, too. With the continued war and unrest abroad, and school shootings at home, there is much in the world that points us to suffering this Lent season. On top of it all…. The snow keeps coming. It has been a long month. WHEW.

But the good news is that April is FINALLY here! And with it, comes Holy Week and the Easter message we are all waiting for: the reminder that Easter is not about a cross, but about an empty tomb. And no matter how long this Lent has felt, that it is only temporary. We are a resurrection people, and will celebrate once again the power of resurrection in our world today.

So goodbye March, and hello April! And what will April bring us? 

Resurrection, rebirth, renewal, and the hope once again, that God’s grace is found in an empty tomb. April also reminds us that the snow will end, and we will see the rebirth of flowers and plants in the days to come as we welcome spring once again. We will celebrate the beauty of Creation on Earth Day, and we will see God plan unfold in the blooming of the season (and don’t forget the Auburn Plant Sale!). No matter how long winter has been, spring bursts forth and reminds us that we are indeed a resurrection people, and that Easter blessings have come once again.



May this month bring you the joy of springtime, the promise of Easter sunrise, and all the blessings of the resurrection promise. Christ is risen…. He is risen, indeed!

Happy Easter!

Rev. Cathy M. Kolwey

Holy Week Services

HOLY WEEK OFFERINGS:

Wednesday April 5th – regular weekly worship

10 am – Courts

11 am – Manor

2 pm – Home

3 pm – Meadows

Thursday April 6th -- Maundy Thursday Worship

11 am – Courts & Talheim

1:30 pm -- Manor

4 pm – Home

6:30 pm – Meadows

Friday April 7th – Good Friday Meditations (with Stations of the Cross)

10 am – Courts & Talheim

11 am – Manor

2 pm – Meadows

3:30 pm – Home

Thank you to our dedicated and hard working staff

for their years of service:

Joan Wiese CORPORATE, 24 years

Judy Gustafson COURTS, 11 years

Eric Perucho-Sanchez COURTS, 3 years

Brandon Gonzalez COURTS, 1 year

Annika Melluma COURTS, 1 year

Tiffany Pommerer HOME, 13 years

Barbara Heusinkveld HOME, 8 years

Alexandra  Molnau HOME, 2 years

Morgan Vieths HOME, 1 year

Cassidy Hughes HOME, 1 year

Leoana Enger MANOR, 19 years

Jennifer Lenzen MANOR, 15 years

Anita Bronson MANOR, 7 years

Peggy Sullivan MANOR, 2 years

Natalie Milazzo MANOR, 2 years

Dajah Hambleton MANOR, 1 year

Lillian O'Connor MANOR, 1 year

Evans Ayako MANOR, 1 year

Ayan Ibrahim MANOR, 1 year

Tammy Bilharz MEADOWS, 18 years

Miranda Flannery MEADOWS, 9 years

Alexa Carlson MEADOWS, 1 year

Happy Birthday to the following staff members

celebrating a Birthday in April:



Steve Smith CORPORATE, 4th

Grace Hankins CORPORATE, 16th

Melissa Sebald COURTS, 6th

Courtney Cuhel COURTS, 5th

Madison Sweeney COURTS, 4th

Yuliia Burdeina COURTS, 11th

Amiira Abdulaahi COURTS, 5th

Rachel Hanes HOME, 29th

Jacob Livermore HOME, 20th

Makensie Byers HOME, 21st

Kalli Wischnack HOME, 21st

Grace Steffen HOME, 4th

Emma Kelzer HOME, 5th

Yvette Zetina HOME, 26th

Amy Myers MANOR, 20th

Jody Luck MANOR, 22 nd

Lisa Liebhard-Schneekloth MANOR, 4th

Teresa Schuster MANOR, 18th

Ellen Cleath MANOR, 25th

Hayley Haas MANOR, 7th

Sado Ismail MANOR, 5th

Peggy Sullivan MANOR, 30th

Abigail Stowell MANOR, 9th

Sabrina Pinney MANOR, 4th

Susan Nzii MANOR, 10th

Marissa Stowell MANOR, 28th

Jonah Bogan MANOR, 15th

Felicia Oliva MANOR, 25th

Chad Carlson MEADOWS, 24th

Nicole Dressel MEADOWS, 18th

Flora Bernal MEADOWS, 22nd

Amanda Rosenlund MEADOWS, 26th

Lana Lampinen MEADOWS, 30th

Timothy Waller MEADOWS, 9th

Alexa Carlson MEADOWS, 18th

Linda Broeker MEADOWS, 6th

:

The Next Resident Newsletter will be mailed out

on May 1, 2023

If you have a loved one with a unique talent,

history or great story that you would like us to share in the Resident Newsletter, let us know!

Email: [email protected]

or call Michelle Yelich at (952)361-5076

Auburn Homes & Services

Mission, Vision and Values Statement