United Presbyterian Home

The following article appears in the United Presbyterian Home quarterly newsletter. It is written by Diana Rich and features a story of two campus residents.

Jim and Jackie Bower call their cottage their home; but if you would have asked them 25 years ago that is how their lives would be, they wouldn?t have believed it.

Later in life, Jim and Jackie met through a Christian dating service. Jim and Jackie had both been married with multiple kids for long periods of time before each was divorced. Jackie knew she wanted to be married again. After all, she had never lived alone in her life. She would pray about the man she wanted to meet, and it was someone who was gifted with his hands.

The Christian dating service they used wasn?t the common online dating service that most are familiar with. This was much more traditional. Jackie was given three male profiles to look through, and she wrote each of them a letter. After several weeks, she received a letter back from Jim but none of the other men. They wrote letters back and forth for nine months until Jackie invited Jim over for Easter. At the time she lived in McHenry, Ill., and Jim lived in Columbus Junction. Sure enough, Jim drove a little over three hours to meet Jackie and her entire family for the first time.

?We met in the church parking lot. I wanted to make sure we had a neutral meeting spot to meet for the first time. Then we headed out on our first date,? said Jackie. On Sunday Jim attended church with Jackie?s family and then headed to their house after church for Easter dinner. When they got home the house was full of smoke.

?The turkey had dripped through the foil pan I was using,? Jackie said, ?It was so embarrassing.?

?I expected fireworks that weekend but it wasn?t like that, so we agreed to stop writing each other,? Jackie said. She would continue to pray to God about finding a man to marry.

?Then one day God hit me on top of the head and said, 'I brought you someone and you turned him away,'? Jackie said with a laugh. So after several weeks, Jackie wrote Jim and they decided to meet again over Mother?s Day. Jackie drove to Iowa for the first time with her daughter and her friend for the weekend. A couple of months later Jim returned to Illinois for a weeklong training for work. They would hang out each night. At the end of the week, after 10 months of writing letters and just a few in-person dates, they went and bought an engagement ring. Jim insisted they get married over the Fourth of July holiday because he had a new job and was unable to take any time off from work. The only thing holding them back now was that Jackie said she wasn?t going to get married until she sold her house.

Just as Jackie had prayed for a husband, she also leaned on God to help with selling her house. Jackie called the 700 Club (a flagship program of the Christian Broadcasting Network) and made a prayer request for selling her home. Within two weeks, the house was sold. So she called Jim up and asked him which day he would like to get married. ?It was a God Thing,? Jackie said.

Everything had worked itself out and the couple wed on July 2, 1994. Jackie moved to Columbus Junction where Jim lived, and every day she would drive by the United Presbyterian Home on her way to work at Washington Eye Care Center. Jackie had heard about the UP Home and drove by while Kerr Hall was being constructed. One day she decided to fill out an application so she could be added to the waiting list, just in case they wanted to move in someday.

About seven years later, UP Home CEO Mike Moore called the couple one day and said he had two cottages open if they were interested. One of the cottages caught their attention, so they decided to visit campus on a tour even though they had no intention of moving.

?We were afraid we were too young, but UP Home resident Betty Beenblossom told us to move in early to get our money?s worth,? Jackie said with a chuckle. Now, for years later, Jim and Jackie love the location of their cottage and everything about it.

?If we were still at our house on Main Street, we would just be sitting around,? said Jim. ?Instead here we are. We have so many friends and things to do, we absolutely love it.?

Both Jim and Jackie have had their share of health issues and concerns over the past few years and agree that the more active lifestyle they have at the United Presbyterian Home has proven beneficial to them. Since living on campus, Jim and Jackie have had much success in the Health and Wellness program on campus. Twice a year the Wellness program has a Senior Fitness Test to measure residents? functional fitness and identify areas for improvement. When comparing Jim and Jackie?s 2014 result with their 2011 result, Jackie dropped 25 pounds, lowered her BMI by 4.17 points and went from 55th to 90th percentile in lower body strength. Jim has dropped 5.96 BMI points, 31.75 pounds and went from the 40th to 95th percentile in lower body strength.

?Both Jim and Jackie are quicker, more flexible and more agile,? said Amy Kleese, Wellness and Fitness Director.

Jim enjoys walking to town twice a day and attending the Men?s Fitness League on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. ?I can definitely tell when I don?t work out,? Jim said. ?It makes me feel good and helps me keep my weight and blood sugar down. It?s very beneficial for me.?

Jackie is also very involved on campus. She enjoys attending Merry Muscle Makers and Tai Chi which are offered Monday through Friday. In addition, she also attends Art Class three times a week. Jackie has had severe fibromyalgia for about 30 years and is determined that her active lifestyle has kept her out of a wheelchair.

They also enjoy Campus Breakfast once a month, Fish Fry Fridays, coffee in the Town Center and special events on campus. ?We enjoy the social life we have at the UP Home as well as the staff that work here,? said the Bowers. ?We feel blessed to live here.?