Dorothy Peak turns 100!!
The Hammond Center for Assisted Living’s first centenarian could be considered a celebrity after her surprise ride in a police car aired on TV News Channels 8 and 13 and was shared all over social media! Tenant Dorothy Peak was surprised with many first-time experiences during the week leading up to her 100th birthday on May 19!
One of Dorothy’s surprises was having her first-ever manicure thanks to TyTy Sampson of TyTy’s Nails (pictured right).
After her appointment, Dorothy walked outside and was shocked to see a police car and even more shocked to learn that Sergeant Chris Wray (pictured left) of the Grinnell Police Department was going to escort her back to the Hammond Center! After rounding the corner of Penrose and 4th Avenue, the lights and sirens announced Dorothy’s arrival back to St. Francis Manor and Seeland Park campus. As the police car pulled up to the Hammond Center entrance, Dorothy was greeted by many of her Hammond Center friends holding signs saying “Happy 100th Birthday, Dorothy.”
Manager/RN Sammi Bryan learned that Dorothy had never ridden a school bus since she always walked to school so a call for assistance was made to Courtney Donohoe with the Grinnell-Newburg Community Schools Central Office. Surprisingly, several other Hammond Center tenants hadn’t ridden on a school bus either so six tenants experienced the thrill of riding around Grinnell on a bus. According to Dorothy, the bus driver, Scott Durr, told them it was more fun in the back of the bus so that’s just where she and Marge Kaloupek (pictured right) sat!
Other firsts for Dorothy included trying an avocado, drinking a cup of cappuccino and experiencing a chair massage (pictured left) in her Hammond Center apartment given by Angela of She’s Got Your Back LLC. The culmination of Dorothy’s birthday week was an Open House hosted by her family in the St. Francis Manor Social Center where she was greeted by over 165 family members and friends.
“Thank you to all the people who planned this special week for me,” said Dorothy. “I enjoyed every minute of it!”
Dorothy stays active at the Hammond Center for Assisted Living where she has lived since March 19, 2019. Almost every day Dorothy either walks outside or around the indoor track at the Hammond Center.
Dorothy was born on May 19, 1923, to Claude and Marie Thompson and was raised in Poweshiek County where she attended rural schools and graduated from Grinnell High School in 1941. Dorothy and John Peak were married on July 20, 1941, and farmed north of Grinnell for 50 years and upon retirement, moved to Grinnell. Dorothy and John’s four children, Dale (Paula) Peak, Marie (Bob Kellogg) Hotchkin, Raymond (Marlene) Peak and Cristy (Lee) Osborn, all live in or near Grinnell.
