Katie Nau is one St. John’s Home resident that staff and volunteers continuously look forward to seeing around the halls due to her kind nature and friendly spirit. She is from the Monroe County area, having raised her family in Hilton, New York. Before moving to St. John’s, Katie had been an avid reader, enjoyed canning foods, and when she had time— would break out her crafty side by knitting or sewing. Unfortunately, some of these hobbies became less possible with age. St. John’s, however, has offered Katie a full calendar of events and activities to keep her and her fellow residents busy.
Katie is a frequent attendee at our weekly summer Courtyard Concert series, at picnics, and often enjoys bonding with any fuzzy new visitor with whom she comes into contact; she even recently bonded with a Police Patrol horse.
Katie is also not one who shies away from sharing her sentiments. She recently expressed heartfelt appreciation for everything staff members have done during this tough year mentioning that she has been, “served wonderfully by staff and volunteers.”
At 99 years young, Katie even had the opportunity to make her television debut when she was featured in our new commercial alongside her companion volunteer Patty Patterson. Katie boasted about her experience in a thank you letter stating, “it was the time of my life to see something like that. The flowers were just beautiful as well as the birds and the butterflies. It was unbelievable. I never expected anything like that.”
Patty is a frequent volunteer at St. John’s who was matched with Katie for their mutual love of reading. At her first visit with Katie, it was clear to Patty that Katie was not at all shy and had two main loves: first, her family, with chocolate a close second. Patty enjoys bringing Katie down to the St. John’s Home Gift Shop to get chocolate and sitting to talk with her at events or in retreat spaces throughout the Home. Katie happily notes that Patty or another volunteer or staff member will sit and talk with her for a bit if she is in a bad mood to cheer her up on days when she is feeling blue.
Patty began volunteering in May 2021 and quickly became a weekly volunteer with frequent visits to her favorite residents such as Katie. “I love volunteering here and seeing the residents eyes light up when you see them,” says Patty. The connections Patty has been able to make with residents, staff members, and other volunteers are what keep her coming back. Since starting her volunteer journey, she has encouraged others to do the same by telling those around her “to the point of boring them” about how fantastic it has been.
Katie will soon be turning 100 and everyone at St. John’s cannot wait to celebrate her at our next Centenarian Celebration.