“We have led a charmed life, and living at Lions Gate makes us feel forever young!”
Roy & Etta Cills have traveled the world many times over. “No matter how many places we’ve visited, the happiness to be found in life is really in all the people you meet,” said Roy. “There are so many new ideas to learn about, new stories to hear, new friends to be made. We have never missed an opportunity to make new friends, no matter where we found ourselves in the world.”
“You never know what life holds,” said Etta. “From the minute we got married, we have been on the move. People can always look for problems, but we knew that as long as the two of us were together, we’d be happy.”
Roy and Etta each grew up in Philadelphia. They met when Etta was just out of high school, and Roy was in dental school. As soon as he graduated, he joined the Navy, and he and Etta were married. They were stationed in Memphis for a short period, then it was off to…the North Pole! “Roy was put on an ice breaker at the North Pole,” laughed Etta, “so we found an apartment in Boston, and that’s where I lived when Roy was out to sea. It was a big start to a long and happy life of travel.”
After Roy was discharged from the Navy, he opened his own dental practice in Cinnaminson, NJ. He and Etta built a house in Moorestown, where they raised their son and daughter. Roy and Etta loved taking cruises, and took tours to every corner of the world. “We always met the most interesting people on cruises,” said Roy, “so I started looking into working with a cruise line as a professional. The last 10 years of my career I split my time between my practice in New Jersey and with Holland America, working on board as the dentist-in-residence to the crew. It was a wonderful experience. Etta and I had our own suite, and we would go on back-to-back cruises for weeks at a time. I think the longest stretch we worked was seven cruises for over 100 days at sea. It was amazing! We loved cruising so much that after retiring from Holland America, we booked two around-the-world cruises on small ships to destinations where large cruise ships couldn’t go. Cruising has truly enriched our lives.”
When Roy retired, he and Etta chose to downsize and move to Lions Gate. “We looked at so many senior living communities, but none compared to Lions Gate,” said Etta. “The cottages here were exactly what I wanted, and we were able to customize it to our specifications. We bumped out the kitchen, put in granite countertops, and added on a second floor. It immediately felt like home because we chose the paint, the rugs, the window treatments, and the furnishings that we liked. Lions Gate took care of the appliances and everything else. It was so easy!”
“We’ve lived here for 15 years now,” said Roy. “Lions Gate does everything from mowing the lawn to maintaining the landscaping, from repairing an appliance to changing a light bulb. I really appreciate the peace of mind. Etta’s mother had Alzheimer’s disease, and there wasn’t any residence that could properly care for her at the time. If either myself or Etta suffers a health setback in the future, I know that we’ll be cared for here, and that we’ll always be together. That means the world to me.”
“People shouldn’t worry about change,” said Etta. “Living in a cottage means we still come and go as we please, but we can also take advantage of as many Lions Gate classes and activities as we want. It’s the same active life we always had, without any of the house maintenance worries. We have led a charmed life, and living at Lions Gate makes us feel forever young!”