Photographs by William Taufic.
Judy with caregivers and Staying Put members and staffers enjoying a casual weekly lunch the group organizes at Mead Park Lodge
Judy Bentley has been helping seniors in New Canaan since 1987. At the time, when she had a young son, Judy enjoyed volunteering at school, but she thought she could do more. When a neighbor suggested volunteering at New Canaan Inn, a retirement community, Judy eagerly signed on.
“I thought, This is a big community and there are probably other areas not being served,” explains Judy. “My grandmother lived with me when I was growing up. I’m used to having seniors around. I learned so much from my grandmother and her friends, listening to their stories. It’s amazing; these people have lived through so much and are so robust.”
Once on the board, she realized “the New Canaan Inn was going to have trouble standing alone.” She suggested moving the Inn under the Waveny Care Center umbrella, which resulted in a wonderful network that thrives today.
“Judy gives both hands-on time—driving residents to appointments, picking up their prescriptions, or delivering Meals on Wheels—and serves in leadership roles on boards of local organizations such as Waveny Care Center, New Canaan Inn and Staying Put,” comments Cynthia Gorey of the New Canaan Community Foundation. “Judy is also a board member on the Elder Care Council. Judy is generous, dedicated, tireless and kind in the face of any challenge.”
Judy relishes the rewarding moments that fill her days. “Last week I helped a lady who needed her hearing aids adjusted,” recounts Judy. “I asked how long she’d had them. She said, ‘Two weeks. My great-grandchildren speak so quickly. I thought they would help me understand them.’ She was ninety-seven! She then handed the nurse her iPhone and asked her to put the instructions on there for her granddaughter, who lives with her. I want to be like that in my nineties!”
Growing up in West Hartford, Judy credits her Swedish mother for instilling the value of volunteerism. “In addition to working, she volunteered everywhere,” she says. “When I was little, I would say, ‘I hope I can grow up and be like her.’”
She attended Skidmore and worked as a public health nurse in a West Hartford neighborhood where heroin use was a major problem. “I was one of the only white people in the neighborhood. They nicknamed me ‘Flo’ for Florence Nightingale and ‘Lily’ for lily white.
“What I do at Staying Put is an extension of nursing. It’s part of my being that I like to tend to people, especially when they have no family nearby to address their problems.”
How does she find the time? “My husband Dave always says I have two speeds: zero and 100 miles an hour,” she quips. “I go to bed and am asleep in four seconds!”