Audrey Jagels is a hard lady to get on the phone. But once you do reach her, you’ll quickly find out why.
“I’m interested in a lot of things,” said Jagels. “They offer such a variety of activities here and I try them.”
“Here” is Laclede Groves, a Lutheran Senior Services Life Plan Community in Webster Groves, Missouri, where Jagels lives and tries many new things. She lists off the lectures and classes in art, history, and nature that she has attended at the community. She laughs about the time she went ziplining with a group from Laclede Groves and how much of a kick her sons got out of that story. She ticks off a list of puzzles she enjoys and books she’s reading. She even took mandolin lessons for a bit when they were offered to Laclede Groves residents. But it’s the piano lessons that Jagels remains dedicated to.
“I’ve always loved music,” explained Jagels as to why she started taking piano lessons in her eighties. “I have a good ear and an okay voice and I learn quickly. I’ve been singing all my life. I’m in the choir and have sung with different groups, so I can read some music but that was about all I had.”
A little over a year ago, another Laclede Groves resident opened up her piano lessons that she was giving to school children to her fellow residents. Jagels seized on the opportunity. The weekly lessons have taught Jagels how to read music and she’s now learning to play more advanced accompaniment. As she often plays by ear, playing the melody comes more easily to Jagels.
Jagels even bought herself a keyboard for her apartment, so she can play whenever she wants to. Lately she has been playing “The Glory of Love” from Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. She’s especially excited to finally have the sheet music to play from as she had been looking for it for quite some time. When she mentioned this to her son, he did a quick internet search, found the music online, and immediately downloaded and printed it off for her.
“It’s because I live at Laclede Groves that I’m able to do these things,” said Jagels. “It’s a great place to live with so many different things offered and going on. We have wonderful staff and people who provide activities. If I had gone someplace else, they don’t have things like this.”
To learn more about Laclede Groves, including how to set up a tour, visit the Laclede Groves web page.