Resident Profile:
Barbara Jewell

In Barbara Jewell's words, "I'm very lucky to be here." Why? Because her English parents, Gerald and Francis Ridley, tried to book passage on the Titanic to immigrate to the United States in 1912. Luckily, it was completely booked. They eventually found passage to the States on the ocean liner the Lusitania. The Lusitania itself later sank on May 7, 1915, after being torpedoed by during WWI. While in Britain, Barbara's father was a coach driver for Lord Wolseley, the then Commander and Chief of the British Army. In the States, he supported his family by selling automobiles and insurance.

Barbara was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on April 25th, 1915, and lived there until she married. She had three sisters and a brother. She was a self-described "sports nut" as a kid and delighted in swimming and playing baseball. Barbara went on to teach swimming for over twenty years at the YWCA in Rockford, Illinois. Barbara attended Janesville High School. She remembers spending a lot of time in the school's gymnasium.

After graduating high school in 1933, Barbara soon found employment at Janesville's Parker Pen factory -- a factory built way back in 1888. She worked there for five years, until she met her first husband, Wendell. Wendell and Barbara had two children, a son, Terry, and a daughter, Wendy. Today she has four grandchildren.

Barbara was married to Wendell Eickman in 1940. They were married for almost 25 years. Wendell and Barbara made a home in Winnebago, Illinois. She married her second husband, Dwight Jewell, in 1965.

Barbara moved into Mulberry Glen about three years ago, after her husband Dwight passed. Her daughter Wendy lives a few miles from the facility and strongly recommended it to her mother. Wendy is happy she decided to move into Mulberry Glen. At age 90, she still enjoys going to the UW Whitewater pool and swimming. She enjoys all the good friends she has made at Mulberry Glen, and they enjoy her company too. "I like to make people happy and I love to make people laugh. I play little jokes on my friends. I clown around and try to have a happy attitude. I have a nice family here at Mulberry Glen, and the staff is fantastic."