Jim and Barbara Batten found a supportive community—and each other. After Barbara’s husband passed away two years ago, she was ready to downsize from their house in Bow where they had raised their three daughters.
She chose a bright, new cottage in the North End of the Heritage Heights campus for herself. Barbara says,“I moved in expecting that I was going to be living here as a single person and was looking forward to making new friends.”
Shortly after her move in September 2014, she started dating Jim, who lived in a cottage in the South End. They had known each other since she attended Wesley United Methodist Church in Concord where he was a pastor 35 years ago.
To their surprise, their friendship quickly blossomed! They married in June 2015 at a small family ceremony at the church. A week later, at an informal reception with their friends at Havenwood Heritage Heights, Jim says,“We had the good wishes of many, many people.” Now they share Barbara’s cottage.
There’s a sense of security among a community of friends.
Jim had moved to Havenwood Heritage Heights in 2007 with his first wife because he wanted her to have a support network if anything ever happened to him. But when she passed away three years ago, he explained that the community “provided the kind of support that I was really concerned with my wife having, but it was provided for me.”
Jim describes the community as a charming New England village where“every level of support that you might need is available.” They both feel that there’s a sense of security here knowing that everything they may ever need is on campus: dining, activities, fitness, transportation, home maintenance and continuing care. And that gives these newlyweds the freedom and peace of mind to focus on enjoying their time together—like taking off and spending the summer at the beach.
