• Meet Gary Ann Williams

    Gary Ann Williams moved into a St. Mary apartment community intending to die. She was suffering from numerous health issues, going blind, and had convinced herself she only had a few months left. Four years later, Gary Ann is thriving. You can see it in her bright and welcoming smile, her feisty personality, and her contagious inner glow that nearly radiates like an aura around her. Her apartment is filled with postcards from loved ones, arts and crafts she made at her community center, and a Braille typewriter – a symbol of both her latest hobby and her acknowledging that death is much further away than she thought. Gary Ann isn’t just medically healthy; she’s holistically well.

    Watch Gary Ann share her story

  • Listen to Ruth share her story

    Meet Ruth Maxwell

    Ruth Maxwell grew up in a loveless home in rural Alabama during the 1930s and 1940s, where she and her 12 siblings worked tirelessly in the cotton fields under their distant father’s rule. School was a rare privilege, and silence was enforced at home. As she entered adulthood, Ruth longed for freedom and ran as soon as she was told to leave, settling in Dayton, Ohio, where she found faith, love, and purpose. She married, determined to raise her children with warmth and care, giving them the life she never had. Despite her efforts, one of her daughters fell into alcoholism, leaving Ruth to raise her five grandchildren. She dedicated 16 years to them, ensuring they felt the love she had once been denied. When they grew up, they encouraged her to find rest, leading her to the Biltmore Towers Senior Apartments. There, Ruth, shaped by a lifetime of resilience and devotion, found new purpose in caring for the lonely, ensuring that no one around her felt unloved.

  • Meet Clifford Stumpf

    Clifford Stumpf’s journey to finding a home was anything but ordinary. At 30 years old, he unknowingly knocked on the doors of Twin Towers Place, a senior apartment community, in search of a place to live. Turned away for being too young, he moved on, never imagining he would return decades later as a resident. Clifford’s early life was marked by instability—born in Dayton, he was placed in foster care after his parents struggled to provide for him. Eventually, he found a loving home with the Howards, a Baptist family who raised him as their own. Despite this, Clifford longed to know his biological family, and at 12, he was given the chance to reunite with them. However, his dreams of a loving reunion were shattered when he was met with neglect and abuse. Feeling unsafe, he eventually confided in his teachers and caseworkers, who helped him transition to Shawen Acres Children’s Home, where he lived for five years. Clifford’s journey was filled with hardship, but it was also a testament to resilience and the search for belonging.

    Listen to Clifford share his story

  • Watch Richard share his story

    Meet Richard Strange

    Richard, a veteran, struggled financially while waiting for his VA pension. To make ends meet, he donated plasma to pay his rent, but after falling ill, he could no longer do so. A St. Mary Development service coordinator stepped in to help Richard get his Social Security benefits processed. In the meantime, donations helped cover his rent until the benefits arrived. Before receiving Social Security, Richard often went hungry, as food stamps weren’t enough, but once his benefits started, his situation significantly improved. He looks back with gratitude for St. MaryDevelopment and the services that improved his quality of life.

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