Her Story

Beulah was born on a farm in Southwest Iowa, the ninth child of 11 born to Danish immigrants. She grew up on the farm, received a bachelor’s degree from the Iowa State Teachers College in Cedar Falls and started her 35-year career in education as a teacher in a one-room schoolhouse.

While in college she met her future husband Gordon, and the two of them would raise three children in their small house on Summit Avenue in Waterloo, Iowa. During that time, she also received a master’s degree in education and was very active in church groups and the Eastern Star.

After her husband passed away in 2002, her friends and family began to notice changes in Beulah’s behavior. A neurologist diagnosed her with Alzheimer’s disease later that year, and she continued to live alone in her home until 2003, when it became apparent that she could no longer care for herself.

Her children initially hired hourly caregivers to spend time with Beulah, but at more than $15 an hour she began to quickly go through her resources that she had worked so hard to save over the years. To place her in a nursing home would also be expensive, and she had clearly expressed her wishes to stay at home as long as she could.

Two of her children, her oldest son and daughter, lived nearby but were both busy professionals who were not able to spend much time with her. Her youngest son lived in Denmark and could not help.

However, her other son was about to complete a contract consulting assignment and her daughter-in-law was able to receive a year off from her job as a teacher, The problem was, they lived in Mexico with their three children.

The family carefully discussed options for Beulah’s care, and the oldest siblings were able to convince their brother and sister-in-law to come to Iowa with their family to care for Grandma.

What followed is a story that involves an integration of families, cultures and personalities, to support and care for the woman who we all loved very much.