Margee Kooistra

Margee Kooistra was ready to shed the burden of maintaining the two beautiful 1890s row houses she owned along the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, Pa. She and longtime family friend Jane Wilshusen had moved into them after being widowed. The two, both retired nurses, now felt that a move to Bethany Village would be the right next step.

But Margee couldn’t imagine how she would sell one home, let alone two, in this economy.

Then her college friend Mary Anne Morefield, who lived at Bethany, told her to contact Senior Director of Development J. D. Shuman about donating real estate. J.D. worked with Margee and her advisors to come up with a creative solution, the first gift of its kind at Bethany. Margee donated her two houses, with a portion funding her entrance fee and the rest contributing to the Building Our Community campaign.

Move-in day was June 12, 2013.

Says Margee, “It was a huge relief to be able to turn over the sale of my property to Asbury Foundation, and I was excited to contribute to a great campaign.”

She adds, “Jane and I feel we’ve found a lovely place for two independent women. We have an appealing cottage with mature trees and lots of sun in the back yard to grow flowers. Everyone is very welcoming, and it’s easy to continue our full lives in Harrisburg. We feel very lucky!”