A blueprint for peace of mind
Marilyn Asam spent most of her career managing the construction of Social Security Administration (SSA) buildings throughout the mid-Atlantic region. It’s a job that involves paying attention to detail, looking ahead, and planning for contingencies. It’s no surprise, then, that Marilyn and her husband, Ed, chose to retire to Jenner’s Pond—even though they had initially picked another community.
“My son found Jenner’s Pond. We toured it and loved it. I really liked the size. It’s scenic here—we look out on a pond and trees,” Marilyn says. But the decision was about more than the view. “We ultimately selected Jenner’s Pond because of the continuum of care that would allow us to safely age in place.”
A foundation in family
A native of Washington, D.C., Marilyn earned a bachelor of science degree in management from Widener University. She spent her career working in government, mostly for SSA, and her children have followed in her footsteps. It’s part of a long legacy. Her father was a firefighter in the District. Today, her oldest son is a Battalion Chief in Montgomery County, Maryland, and his son is a lieutenant firefighter/paramedic in Fairfax, Virginia. Her youngest son is a retired Air Force Flight Engineer and her daughter is a grants administrator for the Culpepper, Virginia school system.
In 1970, a job transfer brought Marilyn back to Pennsylvania and she has lived here ever since. One year, she and a friend attended a singles group event in Rose Tree organized by the Unitarian Church. That’s how she met Ed Asam.
“It was a Halloween party. I saw him across the room talking to a friend of mine,” she recalls. “I knew I had to meet him.”
Ed worked as a chemical engineer and later went back to school to earn a degree in marketing. He consulted with fire companies, unions, even the Baltimore Symphony on investment products to build their pension programs. Both he and Marilyn had children. In 1983, they married and blended their families. Today they have six grandchildren in Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Delaware.
A framework of service
Marilyn and Ed enjoyed traveling. They visited Australia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Greece, Italy, and Israel.
“We really loved Israel. We’ve been there three times,” she says. “For such a small country, there’s so much history.”
They traveled throughout the United States, and especially enjoyed the Southwest. She also made five trips to D’Iberville, Mississippi, as a church volunteer, to help after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005.
“The Bay of Biloxi inundated the city and most homes had major damage,” she says. “I went back five times, rebuilding homes from the studs up. I also did a lot of support. The office system was not in great shape. I helped fix that.”
The city had received funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The more volunteer help that the city received, the less it would have to pay back to FEMA. Marilyn helped document who the volunteers were and how many hours they spent rebuilding.
A secure home in community
Marilyn and Ed started looking to make a move in 2017. They knew they wanted a continuing care retirement community and visited several. In March 2018 they moved to Jenner’s Pond. Last summer, Ed was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
“The care we have been receiving for him is just absolutely wonderful,” says Marilyn. “We feel comfortable about our future needs, since Simpson has so many areas of support—and the memory care here is done with such dignity. We know that if Ed needs additional support, there is in-home care available to us to help keep Ed safe but also comfortable in our own home.”
It’s not just staff that makes a difference.
“The friends we’ve made here have been able to keep him feeling better about himself,” she says. “This is a caring community—and that’s probably one of Jenner’s Pond’s best assets!”
Call us today at 610-869-6800 or submit the form below to see why Marilyn and others in service choose Jenner’s Pond for retirement living.