Home is Lawrence Presbyterian Manor

For Phil and Pat Anderson, home since 2018 has been Lawrence Presbyterian Manor. But they’ve still managed to “travel” around a bit.

In 2018, when the couple first moved in, their duplex wasn’t quite ready but the buyers of their family home were ready to occupy. So they started their Lawrence Presbyterian Manor journey in an apartment on the fifth floor.

Then, at the end of last year, Pat underwent knee replacement surgery - and her recovery was spent on the second floor.

“Phil doesn’t cook or anything like that, so they put him up on the first floor,” Pat said.

Now they are back at home in their comfortable duplex near the woods.

“We love our duplex,” Pat said. “We are in one that faces north, so we have this lovely south sun coming in through big, huge windows. It’s 2-bedroom, 2-bath, with a garage and laundry room. We have everything you need at this age to be comfortable.”

Pat said starting their journey in the apartment opened up the broader community to them.

“You can have lunch everyday in the main building, and that’s a nice way to meet people. Otherwise, you’re in your duplex and it might be awhile before you meet everyone.”

Before coming to Lawrence Presbyterian Manor, Phil and Pat called Lawrence home beginning in 1969.

“We met at KU. Phil graduated in 1963, and companies all over the world were coming on campus to hire engineers,” Pat said. “We’re coming up on our 60th anniversary in February. We were kind of dumb kids. In the early 60s people didn’t live together like they do now. We got married on a Saturday, and were back in class on Monday - the brilliant children that we were.”

Since then, they’ve made up for the honeymoon with a lifetime of travel - including a trip to Nassua for their 40th anniversary and a trip to Hawaii for their 50th.

Phil landed a job with IBM, and that took them to Poughkeepsie, NY, where both of their children were born.

“Much to their chagrin, because they couldn’t spell it when they were asked where they were born,” Pat said. “

When Phil decided to pursue a doctorate degree, their journey brought them back to Lawrence.

“There were grants available from NASA, so we came back and never left,” Pat said.

They both retired from work, but Phil “unretired” to work on a project in Massachusetts to develop airport security technology in the wake of 9/11.

“I joke that I commuted to Topeka, so he had to outdo me and commute to Massachusetts,” Pat said.

Now they both enjoy their time fully retired. They both read books, watch movies, and take walks. Pat enjoys sewing, playing games on her iPad, and doing the local crossword puzzle each day. She also engages in some friendly Wordle competition with her granddaughter.

“My granddaughter got me into Wordle,” Pat said. “It’s a contest to see who can do it fastest. I used to be an English teacher, so they always want to beat me. They say ‘I gotcha grandma.’ “

Long before Phil and Pat moved to Lawrence Prestyberian Manor, they knew the place well - both Phil’s brother and mother called LPM home.

“Our family has a deep connection to this place,” Pat said. “I think it’s worked for us. My mother in law lived in the duplex right behind us for quite awhile. We are absolutely thrilled with our decision to downsize and move here before we got into our 80s. When we don’t want to cook, we walk to the main building to eat. They have wonderful staff and residents here. They are caring, and hard working. Our neighbors watch over each other and know what’s going on. It validates our decision to move here.”