Handle With Care
Acts of kindness and efforts to build community help seniors enrich their lives and others’.
by Bill Donahue

Paris Sterrett is an unapologetic “people person.” Having grown up in a household with a father who worked for a community center and a librarian for a mother likely helped. Born in Rhode Island and educated at the University of Buffalo (now SUNY at Buffalo), he came to the Philadelphia area in 1971 with his wife, Joan. He spent the next 25 years at the VA, helping disabled Vietnam veterans through the vocational rehabilitation program.
 
“I enjoyed the interviewing, finding out what type of educational program would make [each veteran] happiest—their interests, aptitudes, what careers they would like to pursue—in relation to their disabilities,” Sterrett recalls. “I helped the full gamut of people with disabilities. Every person was different. It made me want to go to work every day.”
 
He retired in 1998, but his service to others was just beginning. 
 
Years ago Sterrett had taken up golf as a way to stay active and challenge himself. The year prior to his retirement, a friend who was a science teacher at Episcopal Academy tasked him with starting a junior varsity golf for the school. As of 2025, Sterrett has been helping EA students get their golf game “to the next level” for 28 years.
 
In addition, Sterrett works as a volunteer coach for blind and visually impaired golfers through the Middle Atlantic Blind Golf Association, of which he is vice president. He once coached a blind 89-year-old golfer who shot a hole-in-one at the ACE Club, now known as The Union League of Philadelphia’s Liberty Hill course, in Lafayette Hill.
 
“It’s very rewarding,” he says. “You’re not solving all the problems of the world, but you’re joking around, having lunch, and having a good time playing golf. If the person is playing well, I feel like I had something to do with it, somehow enhancing the life of someone with no vision.”
 
Such acts of kindness can have an invaluable effect on another person’s life. Research suggests the person who performs the kindness may get something out of it, too—for seniors in particular. 
 
A December 2024 NPR story cited the observational and experimental evidence studied by Tara Gruenewald, a social and health psychologist at Chapman University in Orange, California. Perhaps the most compelling involved the Baltimore Experience Corps trial, in which adults ages 60 and older were assigned to either volunteer at elementary schools or be put on a waiting list. The volunteers spent at least 15 hours per week tutoring underprivileged kids. After two years, researchers found that the volunteers had no decline in memory or cognitive function; the same could not be said of those who were in the control group.
 
Having spent more than 45 years in Narberth, Paris and Joan Sterrett moved to The Mansion at Rosemont, near Bryn Mawr, about six years ago. He oversees the community’s raised flower beds, weeds for a few friends, and writes for the community newsletter, The Voice. Now in his early 80s, he credits his longevity to staying active, his happy 55-year marriage to Joan, and his devotion to helping others. 
 
“I’m a very happy person, and I enjoy people,” he says. “I’m probably busier than any other male here [at Rosemont], and doing all these things can really enhance someone’s life.”
 
Where Older Adults Thrive
Southeastern Pennsylvania is home to an array of continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs) and independent-living facilities, all dedicated to helping older adults thrive—whether they live independently, need personal care, or require memory care or some other form of specialized support. Many of these communities are consistently ranked among the best retirement destinations in Pennsylvania, even in the nation.
 
The following lineup highlights some of the top-rated retirement communities in the Philadelphia area. We recognize that the region boasts many outstanding options for retirees, only a fraction of which are represented here.
 
Acts Retirement Life Communities
Brittany Pointe Estates in Lansdale, Fort Washington Estates, Granite Farm Estates and Lima Estates in Media, Gwynedd Estates in Ambler, Normandy Farms Estates in Blue Bell, Southampton Estates, and Spring House Estates in Lower Gwynedd
actsretirement.org
 
Ann’s Choice - Erickson Senior Living
Warminster
ericksonseniorliving.com/anns-choice
 
Arbour Square of Harleysville
Harleysville
trueconnectioncommunities.com
 
Artis Senior Living
Huntingdon Valley, Yardley, and Princeton, New Jersey
artisseniorliving.com
 
Atria Senior Living
Atria Bethlehem, Atria Center City in Philadelphia, and Atria Lafayette Hill
atriaseniorliving.com
 
Brandywine Senior Living
Haverford Estates, Longwood in Kennett Square, and Upper Providence in Phoenixville
brandycare.com
 
Chandler Hall
Newtown
chandlerhallhealthservices.org
 
Cornwall Manor
Cornwall (Lebanon County)
cornwallmanor.org
 
Dresher Estates
Dresher
dresherestates.com
 
Dunwoody Village
Newtown Square
dunwoody.org
 
Eagleview Landing
Exton
eagleviewlanding.com
 
Elm Terrace Gardens
Lansdale
elmterracegardens.org
 
Five Star Senior Living
The Devon Senior Living, NewSeasons at New Britain in Chalfont, and Forwood Manor in Wilmington, Delaware
fivestarseniorliving.com
 
Freedom Village at Brandywine
Coatesville
fvbrandywine.com
 
Friends Home & Village
Newtown
fhvpa.org
 
Garden Spot Village
New Holland
gardenspotvillage.org
 
HarborChase of Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
harborchase.com/harborchase-wilmington
 
The Hearth at Drexel
Bala Cynwyd
thehearthatdrexel.org
 
The Hickman
West Chester
thehickman.org
 
HumanGood
The Mansion at Rosemont, Rydal Park & Waters in Jenkintown, and Spring Mill Pointe in Lafayette Hill
humangood.org
 
Independence Court of Quakertown
Quakertown
icquakertown.com
 
IntegraCare
Glen Mills Senior Living, Exton Senior Living, Magnolias of Lancaster
integracare.com
 
Kendal-Crosslands Communities
Kennett Square
kendal-crosslands.org
 
The Manor at York Town
Jamison
themanoratyorktown.org
 
Maplewood at Princeton
Plainsboro, New Jersey
maplewoodseniorliving.com
 
Maris Grove - Erickson Senior Living
ericksonseniorliving.com/maris-grove
Glen Mills
 
Masonic Villages
Lafayette Hill and Warminster
masonicvillages.org
 
Meadowood
Lansdale
meadowood.net
 
Merrill Gardens
Eagleview Landing in Exton, Merrill Gardens at Glen Mills and West Chester, Truewood by Merrill in Glen Riddle
merrillgardens.com
 
Oxford Enhanced Senior Living
Langhorne
oxfordenhancedseniorliving.com
 
Pennswood Village
Newtown
pennswood.org
 
Phoebe Ministries
Allentown and Wyncote
phoebe.org
 
Pickering Manor
Newtown
pickeringmanor.org
 
Pine Run Village
Doylestown
pinerun.org
 
Pleasant View Communities
Manheim
pleasantviewcommunities.org
 
Riddle Village Retirement Community
Media
riddlevillage.com
 
Rosette
Gladwyne
livingatrosette.com
 
SageLife
The 501 at Mattison Estate in Ambler, Plush Mills in Wallingford, Daylesford Crossing in Paoli, and Echo Lake in Malvern
sagelife.com
 
The Solana Doylestown
Warrington
thesolanadoylestown.com
 
Springton Lake Village
Media
springtonlakevillage.com
 
Sunrise Senior Living
Abington, Dresher, Haverford, Lafayette Hill, Media, Newtown Square, and North Wales
sunriseseniorliving.com
 
Symphony Square
Bala Cynwyd
symphonysq.com
 
Bellingham at West Chester
West Chester
seniorlivingbellingham.com
 
Waverly Heights
Gladwyne
waverlyheightsltd.org
 
White Horse Village
Newtown Square
whitehorsevillage.org
 
Photo courtesy of The Mansion at Rosemont
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life, September 2025.