Published: July 10, 2024
Kendal at Oberlin is home to more than 300 people in their 60s and well beyond. They come from near (Oberlin and Cleveland) and far (Hawaii, Canada and elsewhere). The residents share many common values, such as sustainability and lifelong learning, and many have ties to Oberlin College. But each resident has his or her own unique story.
Meet Dianne May
When it comes to Ohio, Dianne has lived near (Indiana and Kentucky) and far (Utah and California) but never in the Buckeye State. That changed in March and now she gladly calls her new apartment at Kendal at Oberlin home.
“I love Ohio, I love the history of it and I love Kendal. I feel like I am at home,” says Dianne, listing its many pluses, from Kendal’s Quaker and non-profit affiliations to its proximity to the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the Underground Railroad movement.
Unlike most Kendal residents, Dianne started her retirement in a for-profit community near family in Salt Lake City. When she realized it was not a good fit she began searching for a new home. An ad in The New Yorker introduced her to Kendal and she scheduled a visit, well-versed in what she was looking for: a resident-driven community with an open environment, both in terms of transparency and welcoming to all.
“As soon as I visited Kendal I knew this was it,” she says.
Settling in at Kendal
In just four months Dianne has carved out a new life for herself, both on campus and off.
At Kendal, she has gotten involved in the Arboretum, Horticulture and Floral Creations groups and the weekly country dancing and “song swap” gatherings. A former pianist, Dianne now calls herself a “professional audience member” and enjoys attending concerts at Kendal and Oberlin College.
Her big off-campus activity, though, starts in September when she begins a two-year MFA program in poetry at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. Except for a couple of weeks during the winter, she will attend classes remotely.
“I’ve been writing poetry for myself for years, but now I will be critiqued, seriously studying poetry, especially classical,” she says, adding, “The lovely thing about being retired is I don’t have to prove anything. I’m doing it because I want to spend two years writing poetry.”
The adventure continues
Pursuing a master’s degree at age 77 caps a lifetime of adventure for Dianne, starting when she was a teenager living in Munich with her family and attended a German-speaking school.
Other adventures over the years include volunteering and homesteading in Appalachia, playing piano in an Off-Off Broadway theater, and working as a photo assistant for National Geographic. She wrote a book with her husband James May, a therapist now deceased, and two novels, and has traveled extensively, often with Road Scholar.
As Dianne would say, quoting one her favorite mottos, “Adventure is inconvenience rightly viewed.”
ABCs of Lifelong Learning Opportunities
Discover the benefits and some of the options for lifelong learning opportunities available for older adults in our free resource.
In the past, Molly Kavanaugh frequently wrote about Kendal at Oberlin for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where she was a reporter for 16 years. Now we are happy to have her writing for the Kendal at Oberlin Community.
About Kendal at Oberlin: Kendal is a nonprofit life plan community serving older adults in northeast Ohio. Located about one mile from Oberlin College and Conservatory, and about a 40 minute drive from downtown Cleveland, Kendal offers a vibrant resident-led lifestyle with access to music, art and lifelong learning.
