The Wesley Des Moines campus is home to over 50 Boeing retirees, and they’ve now started their own group.
When Eldon Davis moved to Wesley in September of 2020, he started looking for a way to get to know more people in the Des Moines community.
On his third week at Wesley, he noticed a name on a list of residents living in the new Gardens building. He vaguely recognized one of his neighbor’s names on the list, but he couldn’t quite place from where until he ran into the person. Within moments of meeting, they simultaneously recalled, “We used to work together back in 1961!”
Eldon was fortunate to already know a few fellow Boeing retirees whom he had known from his church, so he recognized this as a common thread. With the help of fellow residents and a few Wesley staff, the Boeing retirees group was formed.
The group consists of 54 men and women who used to work for Boeing. As soon as the vaccines came to Wesley, the group started meeting in person. A variety of topics and questions were on the agenda. These included items such as which division each person worked in: commercial, defense or aerospace. The majority worked in commercial. Another topic was the length of people’s employment at Boeing. Most of them had worked there for over 30 years.
They also discussed topics such as why they chose Wesley Des Moines and how far they had moved to become residents on the campus. Most of the members of the group had known someone who lived on campus and had moved 5 to 10 miles from their previous residence. Future gatherings will continue to include many more topics associated with careers, hobbies and current world events.
The group, resident-created and resident-managed, has proven a great way for certain residents to find shared experiences.
Eldon mentions, “It’s been a great way to get to know some very interesting people, and this group could be motivation for other groups to form over a common thread.”