Sunset Senior Communities

01/01/2026

Welcome 2026!

12/25/2025

12/24/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Chris
Campus: Waterford Place

Chris moved to Waterford Place shortly after Glens South opened. He wanted to be more social and already knew many of the residents and even some staff members!

"My wife and I were known for our peanut brittle. Each holiday season, we would make 30+ batches and give it out to family and friends. We even shipped some to family in other states! We have two children, a son & a daughter, and while they were growing up, we would attend the 11pm church service on Christmas Eve. It was always very important to us that our children remembered the REASON for the season. Christmas morning would always include a big breakfast and presents! The rest of the day was spent with family. Even though we had family living all around the United States, we still always made time to celebrate with each other. Some years that meant different things - like the years my parents lived in Arizona and would mail gifts to the children. When the gifts would arrive, we would call them and have a Christmas "celebration" over the phone. Christmas came a bit early this year and I celebrated with my children and their families already. It was a wonderful day! On Christmas, I will go over to my daughter's house and spend the day with her family."

12/23/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Judy
Campus: Waterford Place

Judy only recently moved to Waterford Place, but says it already feels like home! She has three children, two sons and one daughter, and they wanted her to live in this community.

"I loved to cook, so that is what most of my holiday memories include. On Christmas Day, we would have a big dinner that I would spend the first part of the day cooking. After dinner, we would gather in the living room to open gifts together - I always loved watching my children open their gifts. Then we'd end the evening playing some sort of game. This season is so special as we celebrate the birth of Christ and I always look forward to Mass on Christmas morning. This year, I will be going to my daughter's house to spend Christmas with her family. I'm thankful to be spending the day with those I love."

12/22/2025

Name: Zoe
Title & Campus: Recreational Therapist & Volunteer Coordinator, Manor & Villages

"I found Sunset through a Recreational Therapy class I took at Grand Valley! I fell in love with the community and the residents quickly - you can truly feel the presence of God as you walk through the hallways. I've worked at Sunset now for 3.5 years. I started as a fieldworker for my bachelor's degree, stayed on-call while I completed my master's degree, and am now a full-time rec therapist here!

My favorite holiday tradition is on Christmas Eve. My husband and I attend a candlelight church service with my family, followed by fondue, gifts, and then we end the evening with a favorite holiday movie - typically, it's National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation! I am reminded of how special this season is each year as I see our community at Manor & Villages come together. Family members gathering and making memories in our building. Our staff enjoying a holiday party together. I love walking around the building during this time of year! And it's such a privilege to play a part in the Christmas events that take place throughout the month of December - our residents make my job SO fulfilling! For Christmas this year, my husband and I are going to visit my brother & sister-in-law in Memphis. They will be putting us to work, as we plan to help them build a shed! Lots of time will be spent with my nieces & nephews! And we love visiting the Memphis Zoo each time we're in the area."

12/21/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Nancy
Campus: Works at Manor & Villages and Daughter of Bob & Jean, who live at Manor & Villages

On the second to last day of our Sunset Advent Calendar, we'd like to bring you an extra special post from the perspective of a daughter whose parents are currently living at Manor & Villages AND who happens to work for us as well.

"My husband, Rick, became a chaplain for Manor & Villages and truly could not speak more highly about Sunset. He was constantly talking about how great both the campus and the people are. At this time, we were caring for my parents in our home and had been doing so for about four years. As a family, we decided it was time to find somewhere for my parents and Sunset was at the top of our list. When they first moved in, I was there often because I was so used to being their primary caregiver. It was then that I realized for myself just how special Sunset is - so much so, that I decided to apply for a job at Manor & Villages!

One of my fondest memories of the holiday season is always having people at our house - I love people and chaos & commotion of the holiday season! My mom would always make sure that our home was decorated beautifully. Christmas is such a special season for so many reasons, but of course, the birth of our Savior is the most important event in all of history and I am thankful that we can gather as family and friends to celebrate Him. Growing up a pastor's daughter and then marrying a pastor as well means that our Christmas celebrations have always included many church services and events. This year, the church my husband is at will be holding FIVE Christmas services, so we will both be very busy with that. We started a new tradition with our children of celebrating Christmas early. This year, we celebrated in early December, which was nice because then we are able to spend the rest of the season celebrating the REASON for the season!"

12/20/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Bea
Campus: Waterford Place

Bea moved into Waterford Place when Glens South opened in 2022. Her granddaughter works for Sunset and could not say enough good things about the campus, so she decided it was time to make the move! Bea is thankful that she moved to Waterford Place, especially during the winter when she looks out her window and sees the snow falling - the snow is SO beautiful from the comfort and warmth of her home here at Waterford!

"The years when our four daughters were growing up hold some of the best Christmas memories! We would all look forward to the Sunday school church Christmas program at Forest Grove Reformed - watching our daughters up on stage celebrating the reason for the season always warmed my heart. When the program concluded, we were gifted an orange and cracker jacks as we walked out of the sanctuary. I'm not sure why, but that is something that my daughters will still talk about to this day! Another memory from those years is making peanut butter balls with the girls - we perfected our recipe and found that the most perfect peanut butter balls are made with Jif Peanut Butter. Both my late husband and I came from large families, so our holiday gatherings were always filled with commotion and laughter - the kids all loved to play together! This year, I will be spending Christmas with my daughters and their families. We spend the evening playing games, openings gifts, and just enjoying time together!"

12/19/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Paula
Campus: Waterford Place

Waterford Place would just not be the same without our Paula! She initially moved to Waterford, because of the location - it's very close to her two nieces, so they are able to come visit often.

"Being Catholic, Christmas has always been such a special season. From special Mass services to the Christmas songs we would sing, I always look forward to the holiday season. When my two nieces were growing up, I remember decorating the house and being so excited for them to come over to spend time with their Aunt Paula. My nieces have always been such dear girls who take such good care of me, so spoiling them was always a highlight of the holidays! This year, I will be spending time with my niece Rosie and enjoying time here with my Waterford Place family."

12/18/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Bob & Jean
Campus: Manor & Villages

Bob & Jean found Sunset through their son-in-law, Rick, who has served as one of our chaplains at Manor & Villages. Both Rick and their daughter, Nancy, spoke highly of Sunset and thought it would be a perfect fit for Bob & Jean. It was important to the entire family that Bob & Jean had somewhere they could age in place. At Manor & Villages, they're able to live independently now, but have peace of mind knowing that any future care needs will be taken care of right on the campus they call home.

"Our favorite holiday tradition is going caroling with the family. It was always such a meaningful way to spend an evening during the holiday season - we would visit the homes of family members and shut-ins from our church. No matter where we lived, we always made it a priority to visit church shut-ins - everyone deserves some extra Christmas cheer! And our kids absolutely loved it - those years of caroling as a family hold cherished memories for all of us. Family is very important to us, so the holiday season was always filled with family gatherings. This year has already been SO special, as our twin granddaughters surprised us with a visit! We were only expecting one of them, so seeing both of them at the airport was such a JOY! Years ago, we were the ones who traveled to see family and now it's a gift to have them come to us.

Our plans for the holiday season are quite simple this year. We have enjoyed the special events at Manor & Villages, especially the cookie decorating we did last week! It's always lovely chatting with everyone and sharing holiday memories and traditions - we love to hear about how other people celebrate such a special season. On Christmas Day, we'll enjoy a meal here at Sunset and since our son-in-law is busy with church services, we'll likely have dinner with family later in the week. Nothing is set in stone, but we just go with the flow and enjoy every moment we can with those we love!"

12/17/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Joan
Campus: Waterford Place

We are truly a family here at Waterford Place! Joan found Waterford, because her granddaughter, Dana, is one of our lead dietary aides. She absolutely loves being able to see Dana so often!

"My late husband and I have two daughters who have always made Christmas so magical! When they were growing up, we'd all head to the tree farm to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. We'd get our tree home and the girls would help me decorate - I love to decorate for the holidays and it became even more special when our daughters would join in! We attended Seymour Church in Grand Rapids and would always attend their Christmas services. Christmas day has always been filled with family, fun, games, gifts, and LOTS of good food. This year, I will be spending the holidays with my daughters and their families. I am really looking forward to seeing my great-grandchildren - they're all little yet and I love to watch them experience Christmas!"

12/16/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Cap & Georgene
Campus: Manor & Villages

Cap & Georgene moved to Manor & Villages the day after Thanksgiving, 8 years ago. They both felt like they were home from the moment they walked through the doors and that still holds true today!

"The Christmas season is so special to us, because we are able to get together with both of our families. Life is busy, so we're not often able to see our families throughout the year, but the holidays bring all of us together - kids, grandkids, and great-grandkids! We are blessed and love watching the little ones open their presents! The joy in their eyes brings us such joy! Our plan for the holidays this year is to spend time with family and go on some of the Sunset bus trips to see Christmas lights."

12/15/2025

Sunset Advent Calendar
Name: Jack & Millie
Campus: Waterford Place

Jack & Millie have lived all across the United States, but home has always been West Michigan. They were living in Florida near their son, but when he retired and moved out of the state, Jack & Millie decided it was time for them to return home. They toured a lot of senior living communities back in 2022 with their final tour being at Waterford Place. They had toured the campus before and had even considered moving back in 2017, but that was just not God's plan at the time. Fast forward to 2022, Waterford Place had the home size they were looking for and it was clear to both of them that THIS was where God wanted them to be. Jack & Millie love the Christian atmosphere at Waterford Place and both say that it feels like home.

"We have always focused on time with family during the holiday season. With Jack being a pastor, the Christmas season was jammed packed with church services and festivities, so time set aside for just our family was very important to us. Early on in our marriage, we could not afford much, but I always did what I could to make our home look beautiful for Christmas. I would decorate early each year, so that the focus could be on the TRUE meaning of Christmas - the birth of Christ will always be such an incredible miracle to me and it's important to acknowledge the sacrifice God made sending his son to eventually die for our sins.

I loved buying and wrapping gifts for our children - the boys always wanted little Tonka toys and our daughter loved anything girly. During Christmastime, our home was always filled with music and laughter. Our daughter played the piano and would fill our home with holiday songs - that is one of my very favorite memories. Christmas Eve, I always cooked a nice dinner before the candlelight service and then Christmas Day would be spent with just our immediate family - Jack and I with our four children.

When I was a pastor in Fort Lauderdale, candlelight services were not popular yet. I suggested that our church start the tradition, which was quite progressive at the time and I will always remember our first year trialing it - the congregation was definitely nervous and came prepared with blankets and fire extinguishers. Thankfully, nothing caught on fire and everyone loved it! The silence after singing Silent Night by candlelight is such a beautiful solemn moment that will always be so meaningful to me. In recent years, Millie and I have chosen to focus on the Advent wreath. The churches that we grew up in did not do much with Advent, but Millie and I have made it a priority each year to make the Advent season meaningful to us.

This year, it will just be the two of us for Christmas. We're not exactly sure of our plans, but we'll find somewhere that is open and have a nice meal together. And we'll attend Christmas services at our church, Baldwin St. CRC."