Ted, a Tapestry resident for three years, is one of our company’s Ambassadors – volunteer community spokespeople who are pleased to share what they love about their life and living at Tapestry. We are excited to share Ted’s story in print and video. Like all our residents, Ted has found a sense of community at Tapestry and a group of friends that inspire him to continue to live a rich and meaningful life. Ted and his wife Annie couldn’t be happier with their choice to live at Tapestry.

Ted was born in the early 1930s in Nanaimo, BC, a resource-dependent town dotted at the time with mines, sawmills and pulp mills. He has fond memories of the great outdoors in what was then a mainly rural community that offered children endless opportunities for play and exploration in dense forests and open fields.

As a youngster, Ted would walk out his front door each morning and wouldn’t return until dusk. Like most people of his generation, Ted learned to make his own fun and create his own entertainment. There were no schedules or arranged playdates. Cell phones, the Internet and streaming television programming could not even be imagined.

“When I was young, you had to go out and make your own play, and that’s what we did,” says Ted. “Whether it was inventing games, hiking or biking, you were always involved, and it just became a natural trait.”

After finishing high school, Ted explored many opportunities in the resource-heavy town. He tried his hand in a logging camp, sawmill and spent time working in a warehouse. As his wife Annie says with a laugh, it wasn’t until he “matured” a few years later that he decided to pack up his “boyish” ways and attend university, where he studied to become a teacher. At the time, he was one of the few men from the neighbourhood that decided to leave Nanaimo and pursue post-secondary education.

Upon graduation, Ted secured a job at Gladstone Secondary School where he taught history to a new generation of students for more than three decades. He enjoyed the opportunities to nurture and inspire young minds and instill in them an appreciation for history and all the lessons it teaches.

He remained at Gladstone for his entire teaching career. “After 34 years, I walked out smiling and along the line, I think I gave a few good lessons.”

In retirement, Ted found joy playing all those sports that had made his childhood years in Nanaimo so magical. He also expanded his interests by learning to play hockey, tennis and golf. He took up canoeing and cross-country skiing. He easily filled his time by staying active and enjoying all the new and “old” activities that had always made his life so rich and interesting. He was also an active gardener, growing vegetables and flowers, and a competent “do it yourselfer” in house repairs.

Ted started to consider a move to a seniors’ community when he realized that daily chores were becoming a challenge to his ability to pursue activities that brought so much happiness and meaning to his life. “At some point I was getting tired,” says Ted. “The signs were there, and I realized I had to take the opportunity of moving seriously.”

Ted’s perspective combined with Annie’s desire to move into a community where she could enjoy many programs and services without the stress of daily chores led them both to decide to move to Tapestry.

Today, Ted and Annie live a vibrant and happy life at Tapestry. They participate in many activities and enjoy close friendships. During the last three years, Ted has completed a project in the community’s woodwork shop, joined a group playing on the golf simulator and has also persuaded friends to play in the Billiards Lounge. Playing bridge three times a week has also helped to fill a busy weekly schedule.

“At first I was apprehensive about moving to Tapestry,” says Ted. “But I have learned the more things you get involved in, the more interesting your life becomes. Having made a circle of friends and enjoying the activities…I am so glad to call Tapestry my home.”