Customer and Family Testimonials

A few years ago, my sister and I found that our mother, Lyla, who was struggling with Alzheimers disease, was not receiving the care that she needed in the facilities in Connecticut. We brought our mother to Clarewood, where there was a place for her in the Special Care wing of the Extended Care Center. She was happy in her new home and felt safe and loved. Our families soon got to know her caregivers and the Clarewood Staff who treated her with the kindness and respect that she needed and deserved. At Clarewood she was included in activities arranged by the Extended Care Center Activities Director, including a bus trip to the Beach in Galveston, to lunch outings, etc. She also enjoyed some of the Clarewood-wide holiday celebrations as well as frequent visits in the rose garden, sitting by the outdoor water fountain and by the indoor aquarium. We believe that Clarewood House provided the quality care and personalized attention that she needed in her final years and would definitely recommend it to other families with similar needs.

Joan M. Spaw

Our family has known Clarewood from it’s earliest days of formation in the 1960’s, through a period when our grandmother (Wanda Hoencke) resided there, to more recent years when our parents (Louis and Wanda Spaw) also came to live at Clarewood House. As a faith-based community, it has grown and flourished through its 50 years, all the while maintaining quality care and a strong sense of friendship and love to its residents in their retiring years. As well, we ourselves have experienced that same spirit of community that is so much a part of Clarewood. A very upbeat place to live -- physically, socially, and spiritually, we never hesitate to tell our friends who are searching for a safe and “happy” place of home for their loved ones: “You might want to take a look at the Clarewood House”.

The Niebuhr and Spaw Families

“As my wife and I became increasingly aware that the joys of home ownership and its inherent responsibilities were running their course, we began a long deliberation of seeking an answer. Soon, moving to a retirement community became the solution and several factors became the dominant ones. They were: a long standing non-profit facility with a successful history, local ownership, stable senior management, no required mean plan and three levels of living arrangements. Jane and I made several visits to Clarewood House. Our requirements were only met, but Clarewood House also provided other important elements including a modest refundable deposit, month-to-month rental at a very reasonable price, a faith-based pledge, attractive well maintained physical facility and grounds, outstanding food service, a very mature professional staff, a chapel with its own chaplain, heavy activity schedules and a well supplied library. In a short while we were Independent Living residents with some of the most interesting and delightful fellow residents imaginable. We have made new friends and enjoy hearing the most fascinating life stories. For instance, here at Clarewood, there are several veterans of WWII, people who went to college in the 1930s and people who were raised on farms throughout the country.”

Resident Frank Sorrell

It seemed to us to have been divine intervention the Sunday we visited Clarewood House for the first time, with our dad.  There we were greeted by a lovely lady who we thought later must have been an angel.  She was a resident of Clarewood House who took it upon herself to tell us all about Clarewood and to show us around.  It was her genuine kindness, we believe, that convinced our dad and us that Clarewood House was the perfect place for him.  And indeed it was.  For the following seven years he was blessed with many good friends, a caring staff, and a beautiful home.  He especially enjoyed walks in the garden, attending a Bible study class and worship services, but most of all he enjoyed the special friendships of those around him.  Our family has wonderful memories of his time spent there.  And we continue to be drawn to Clarewood House.  We still attend worship services in the chapel in our desire to stay connected to the warm and loving people, both residents and staff, at the home called Clarewood House.

Sue Ann and Gary Nichols (daughter of Brick Welter)

Mother spent ten very happy years at Clarewood House -- first independently, then in Assisted Living, and the last few months in Extended Care.  She always said she could not imagine a better place to live, and I cannot imagine another retirement community with staff so committed, caring, and professional. 

Ann Cochran (daughter of Mary Tyrrell)

“My aunt, Allene Ford, a retired UM Deaconess, lived at Clarewood House for almost ten years.  She enjoyed every one of those days, even though her health declined.  She started in Independent Living for years, and then moved to Assisted Living and finally to Extended Care for 20 months.  She drew from Clarewood’s deep well of programs and resources—chapel, Bible studies, Sunday night Hymn Sing, puzzles, special programs, card games, Ukulele group, Red Hat Society, UMW, etc.  She loved the staff so much.  They took such good care of her; Clarewood was truly her home for these years.  She made dear friends and renewed old ones.  I never worried about her because I knew she was in good hands.  God has a whole band of angels at Clarewood House with kind and gracious spirits.  Allene and I benefitted from their generous and loving hospitality.”

--The Rev. Gail Ford Smith, Director for the Center of Clergy Excellence, Texas Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church