No Worries
Located in idyllic Bucks County, The Attleboro Community offers enrichment, peace of mind, and the freedom to make the most of retirement.
Nearly every resident of The Attleboro Community in Langhorne has a good story to tell. Art and Jane Burtis are good examples. They have a meet-cute story straight out of a Sandra Dee movie.
Jane and her family were longtime members of a private lake in central New Jersey. One summer, Art was hired as a lifeguard. “One thing led to another,” he says matter-of-factly.
In truth, their summertime introduction led to 52 years of marriage, two children, three careers, and a retirement spent exploring the wilds of Canada to satisfy their adventurous streak. In Nova Scotia, for example, the Burtises discovered an old sports camp with 28 cabins around two lakes where they could hike and canoe in the serene Canadian wilderness. They return to the camp each year, accompanied by their beloved Weimaraner, Digby, named after a Nova Scotian fishing village famous for its scallops.
Art and Jane married in 1969, after Art graduated from Rider College. He began a career in banking while Jane finished her degree in English and History, and raised their two children. At home, Jane followed in the tradition of her English ancestors by practicing crewel embroidery, a form of wool tapestry prominent during the reign of King James. In the mid-1980s, she returned to college for a degree in Computer Science. Jane worked for the state of New Jersey and the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, before retiring in 2006.
After 27 years in banking, Art retired at age 50. “Between you and me, banking was really boring,” he says. He developed his interest in antique firearms into a business. To this day, he is a part owner of a retail store and gun range in eastern Pennsylvania.
When they felt it was time to move, they chose The Attleboro Community, in part because of its idyllic location in pre-colonial Langhorne. They also had an unassailable reference: Art’s mother, Marjorie, now 102 years old, who has been a resident since 2003.
The community’s walking paths and proximity to Tyler State Park and Core Creek Park were key drawing points, as they love the opportunity to stretch their legs on walking trails. Perhaps most importantly, Attleboro welcomes canine residents.
Having been in residence for only a few months, the Burtises are delighted with their apartment: two beds, two baths, and more than enough room for Digby. “Digby is one-third of the couch most of the time,” Art says with a chuckle.
As travel restrictions continue to lift, the Burtises are excited to resume their adventurous ways. They are planning on at least one cruise and a return to their camp in Nova Scotia. No one is looking forward to it more than Digby. “She knows exactly where you’re going,” says Art. “You know you’re getting close [when we travel there], because she’s getting fidgety in the back.”
The Center of It All
When planning for their own retirement, fellow Attleboro residents Bob and Kathy McCloskey couldn’t picture living anywhere other than Bucks County.
“I think we’re still an eight-mile radius from where we grew up,” says Bob, who hails from Bensalem.
Kathy was raised not far from Attleboro, in a house built by her grandfathers in Langhorne’s Parkland neighborhood. Her family moved to an old farmhouse nearby when she was eight. Though it was almost four acres with a double barn and a chicken coop, Kathy and her five sisters shared only one animal: a brown-and-white Paint gelding named Skeeter.
Bob and Kathy met at a basement house party in 1965. “As I was going down the steps, I said to my girlfriend Janet, ‘Who’s the tall skinny guy over in the doorway?’” Kathy laughs. “At the same time Bob was saying to his friend John, ‘Who’s the brunette coming down the stairs?’ We have been together ever since.”
Married in 1967, Kathy and Bob bought the house Kathy grew up in, where they lived for 24 years before moving to Newtown. Starting the summer after high school, Bob worked in commercial construction for a family-owned business specializing in public bid work. He stayed for 49 years, starting as a laborer, and retired as chief estimator and senior project manager. He is also a self-proclaimed motorhead, once taking 16 years to restore a 1957 Thunderbird, a two-seater called the “Little Bird.”
After briefly working as a billing clerk at Sears in Trenton, Kathy stayed home to raise their son, but “mostly I was a bum,” she jokes. “I played tennis. I biked. I swam. I’ve always been very outdoorsy.” She also volunteered at Our Lady of Grace Catholic elementary school in Penndel.
When Bob was diagnosed with a slow-moving cancer 11 years ago, the McCloskeys decided they needed to think about where they wanted to spend their retirement. They started researching, and visited 20 different communities, either online or in person. They settled on Attleboro because of its proximity to downtown Langhorne.
“Very few independent living retirement places are located within a town,” says Bob. “We walk out our patio doors and within a minute, you’re almost to the center of town.”
Like the Burtises, the McCloskeys love the access to nearby walking trails, like those in the Catawissa Nature Preserve. The McCloskeys walk four to five miles a day.
When asked what advice he would give to people thinking about where to spend their retirement, Bob recommends putting in the time to research their options: “Each place offers something different. You really have to sort through and figure out what’s more important to you. Is a swimming pool more important than living in a town setting?”
Art Burtis suggests peace of mind is a huge aspect of what communities such as Attleboro offer. Attleboro offers multiple living options—independent living, personal care, skilled nursing—to accommodate any changes in health. Also, because exterior maintenance and nearly every other aspect of home ownership are taken care of, residents are free to focus on spending time with family and friends, participating in activities, and pursuing other forms of personal enrichment.
In other words, residents truly enjoy a worry-free lifestyle, with few exceptions. “You can just worry about where you want to travel,” Art adds.
The Attleboro Community
290 East Winchester Avenue
Langhorne, PA 19047
(215) 750-9424
Photograph by Gabriela Barrantes
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, October 2021.
