Elder Story – Marilyn from The Manor

Let’s Meet Marilyn!

As we move into August and summer is more than halfway over, we are featuring Elder Stories from each of the Homes. The Manor would like to feature Marilyn Hindmarch.

Before coming to the Home, Marilyn grew up in the country, not too far away from where she lives now. But the quiet rural life never scared her away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Once she graduated from Sarnia Central, she headed to Waterloo, and then off to Ottawa to complete her post-secondary education. From there, she had a multitude of careers focused around advocating, supporting and creating equal opportunities for diverse groups of people. Starting with being the CEO of Oxfam Canada and working alongside the Canadian government to create youth programs in the western provinces of the country. However, her work didn’t stop there, as she eventually traveled to Cuba for three years to be a translator for the Latin Press. On her return, she served seven years as the CEO of the Immigrant Women Skills Training Centre in Toronto.

Traveling was a huge part of her work and meant she had the opportunity to meet lots of people, create many memories and love plenty of people along the way. Some of these people include her two sons, Michael and Erik, and her Cuban husband Manuel, to whom she has been married for over twenty years. Marilyn and her husband eventually ended up moving to Sarnia, from Cuba, to be with her mother, Jean, who coincidentally was also an Elder at The Manor.

Since residing at The Manor, Marilyn has found a new sense of community and continues to make friends wherever she goes. She can be found socializing in the dining room with a bunch of ladies at her table, having fun while exercising, grabbing a drink at the pub, or playing cards. If you are ever at The Manor on a Friday, you can be sure to find her embarking in an intense game of euchre with the other Elders. Marilyn has also continued to embrace her passion for equality, by being the Chair of the Residents’ Council at The Manor. Overall, Marilyn finds enjoyment, joy, and energy, being surrounded by others and has “liked nursing home life” so far!