John Knox Village celebrates 50 years of bringing ‘purpose and meaning and dignity’

Half a century ago, John Knox Village first opened its doors in Lee’s Summit. The milestone anniversary has employees and residents reflecting on its history and future.

Perhaps the biggest change in the retirement community is its size. It’s grown to encompass not only apartments for independent living but also assisted living and memory care, as well as home health, hospice, ambulance and nursing services.

In terms of population, its numbers have gone from about 60 to close to 1,500.

The campus has numerous long-serving employees, including president and CEO Dan Rexroth, who’s been there 30 years.

“I call it one-stop shopping for people who have a variety of health care needs. Not only can we meet those needs, we can really meet them in the setting of their choice,” Rexroth said.

The facility’s growth has not only been because of demand but due to necessity in the current market.

“The retiree of today is looking for a very different kind of home than they were in 1970 ... Closets were small; bathrooms were small,” Rexroth said.

Today, people are looking for homes that are larger and more open, with better light. Amenities outside the home are also important to today’s senior citizens. To accommodate these, John Knox has built seven restaurants in a variety of styles on its campus. Residents pay a monthly fee they can apply toward these meals.

Although most people who live at John Knox Village are from the metro area, Rexroth said about 25% come from outside the region, either because they have family here or because the cost of living is so much lower than on the coasts.

Although it was founded by Presbyterian minister Kenneth Berg, John Knox is not affiliated with any faith community.

“Berg had a vision to reach and to provide something better for retirees.

“That was a very different kind of living than typically how older people were cared for in the past,” Rexroth said. “His vision was to bring purpose and meaning and dignity and to keep seniors active and make their last days their best days. That’s a phrase I like to use today.”

For Rexroth, the sense of community, even between residents and employees, is one of John Knox’s defining characteristics.

“We’re a community in a physical sense, but we also talk about it much more in a relational sense. As people age, they typically become somewhat more isolated, and at the village, our focus is really on being engaged and active and building relationship with other residents and with our associates,” he said.

Kelli Snell, director of life enrichment, has been at John Knox for 29 years and agrees with this sentiment.

“I probably have more friends in John Knox Village than I do outside of John Knox Village. … What hasn’t been a change is that sense of community no matter how we’ve grown in our buildings and the services we offer,” Snell said.

One of those friendships Snell has is with resident Carol Gerdel, 98. When she moved in at John Knox with her late husband, Al, “Kelli, of course, was just beginning herself, and we just sort of clicked. We’ve been just good friends ever since.”

Gerdel volunteers one morning every week in Snell’s office and another morning at John Knox’s hair salon.

“It’s certainly a caring community. If you need anything, if you have any problems, there’s always someone nearby who will help you,” Gerdel said.

Her in-laws were some of the first residents at John Knox, which gave Gerdel a preview of what retirement there might look like.

“It was so exciting, really, seeing the development and what it’s become in the 50 years since it started,” she said.

“The starting person had a dream, and I’m sure he never dreamed it would be here 50 years from when he started it as thriving and with as many people that are taken such good care of by the staff.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2020 at 12:00 AM.