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Our Mission | Our Vision | Our Story
| Board of Directors
When the Beatitudes Campus was founded in 1965, it was conceived to be a place where older adults could live, learn, and grow through all the days of their lives. Our Founders dreamed of a "campus," borrowing the term from the educational community because of its sense of continual growth and vibrancy.
Many years have passed since the opening of our Campus, which was an extraordinary event in retirement living and elder care. It's documented that "leaders in homes for the aging across the U.S. looked to the Beatitudes Campus as a model community." We are proud to say that while times have changed, our Campus is still the leader in quality, affordable retirement living – it's nice to know some things never change!
Our community is sponsored by the Church of the Beatitudes, a United Church of Christ congregation. The Church of the Beatitudes also founded the following related nonprofit organizations: Beatitudes Agelink, an intergenerational child development center located on the site of our Campus; and Duet; Partners In Health & Aging, serving homebound adults, family caregivers, nurses in faith communities, and grandparents raising grandchildren.
Our Mission:
The Beatitudes Campus is a faith based community offering a wide spectrum of services for older people. Our heritage of Christian hospitality calls us to welcome people of all faith traditions and commits us to a model of wellness that promotes soundness of mind, spirit, and body.
Our Vision:
The Beatitudes Campus is a center of excellence and a leader in the field of aging services. Our model of service balances the art and science of caring and focuses on living rather than aging.
Our Story:
The beginnings of the Beatitudes can be traced back to a visit by the pastor of the Church of the Beatitudes, Rev. Dr. Culver "Bill" Nelson, to a nursing home of the time. The appalling conditions Rev. Nelson witnessed compelled him to join forces with other church visionaries, including Rev. Dr. Everett B. Luther, to create a welcoming retirement living community.
The dedication to this vision was so great, the young church congregation decided to build the Campus before they built the church sanctuary because the need was so great for comfortable, caring, and affordable retirement living to meet the needs of seniors with modest economic means. This type of community did not exist anywhere in the state of Arizona at the time.
After considerable discussion, the congregation voted in February of 1962 to sponsor the Beatitudes Campus of Care, then referred to as North Congregational Retirement Home. It was determined that the site of our community be within one mile of the church and following an extensive search, the appointed committee located 25 acres of land – our current site - which they were able to purchase for $25,000 per acre!
The original property faced some rezoning issues because it was located on farm land in a residential area. Even in the face of these challenges Mary Bremhorst, the Assistant Administrator, began taking applications from prospective residents. The commitment and dedication to this project, by many individuals, paid off and ground-breaking ceremonies were held on July 26, 1964. The first residents moved into the South Plaza Building, known then as Building "B," on May 17, 1965. Three months later residents moved into the "Lodge" now known as Plaza View Assisted Living. The North Plaza, Garden Apartments, Health Care Center and Arizona Room followed and were completed in 1969.
Board of Directors:
| Officers |
Position |
| Mike Scheurich |
Chair |
| Brad Stouffer |
Chair Elect |
| Lou Jennings |
Treasurer |
| Mary Ann O'Neil |
Secretary |
| Jack Marks |
Immediate Past Chair |
| Members |
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| John Christian |
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| David Davies |
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| Chuck Ditsch |
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| Jack Eberenz |
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| Lee Hofmann |
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| Ken Husband |
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| Marcia Lee |
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| Herman Orcutt |
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| Joe Rowe |
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| Scott Schaefer |
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| Neil Ward |
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| Ex-Officio |
Title |
| Nancy Elsenheimer |
Senior Co-Pastor, Church of the Beatitudes |
| Irmgard Hulstrom |
Resident Council President, Beatitudes Campus |
| Joe Castillo |
Auxiliary President, Beatitudes Campus |
| Peggy Mullan |
Campus President/CEO, Beatitudes Campus |
| Carol Vaughan |
Church President, Church of the Beatitudes |
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