Meet the Residents | The Clare | Chicago, IL

Joy Hammer & Jim Morton

Concert picnics in Millennium Park, exercise classes, lectures, babysitting grandchildren, travel, movies and parties. And amid the flurry of activity in Joy Hammer’s downtown Chicago lifestyle, she still finds time to long-distance manage the family grain farm back in Kansas.

That’s a slice of the active life she leads at The Clare, the Gold Coast tower she’s called home for the past four years.

Living here “is like being at a resort all the time,” she says. “I could take all day to tell you about all there is to do here – they have so many that you have to pick and choose,” she says, noting the educational lectures, social activities, concerts, and, once a month, a gourmet dinner on the 53rd floor with sweeping city views. “And as a former registered dietician, I must comment on the delicious, healthy food we enjoy in The Clare’s three restaurants.”

In addition, Joy also has the comfort of continuing care should unforeseen needs that may arise. “I moved here knowing that it would be a place I could stay the rest of my life and get the care that might be required,” Joy says, noting the difficulty she had taking care of her own parents in their later years. “And I didn’t want my daughters [in Chicago] to have to do that. They have their own lives and are very busy with family and jobs. So The Clare answers the questions of what will happen when I need help.”

Joy grew up in the suburb of Elmhurst and was commissioned in the U.S. Air Force, where she met her husband, Stan. They spent 37 years on the farm-ranch in Kansas, and after he passed away in 2007, she moved to Chicago to be closer to her daughters, and later, to The Clare. Her partner, Jim Morton, is also a Clare resident. He and Stan were best friends from their Air Force days, and after Jim’s wife of 54 years passed away, Jim moved from Michigan to Chicago to be with Joy. “I was happy to follow,” Jim says.

Jim takes full advantage of The Clare’s well-equipped fitness center. “I work out every weekday,” he says. Joy usually does a class with a personal trainer.

Morton served 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, where he was a hospital administrator. He commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant and climbed the ranks to retire as a Full Colonel. After retiring from the military he was CEO of a civilian hospital for 11 years.

“We have found so much in common with the people that live here – there are so many professional people, retired businessmen and women,” Morton says.

“I have convinced him that Chicago is the most wonderful city in the world,” Joy adds with a laugh. And with all they have going on at The Clare and in the Windy City, “I think he believes it now.”

Bob Spieler

Why did Bob Spieler move to The Clare?

“I got tired of my own cooking, how’s that for an answer?” the spry 87-year-old responds with a chuckle. The truth, though, is that the Chicago native was searching for a community in the area that offered life care, providing access to not only a vibrant senior living lifestyle, but a continuum of care as his healthcare needs change over time. “I looked at the options for life care communities in Chicago and decided that The Clare was for me.”

And is it ever. “I should have moved here a year ago,” Bob says. He regularly takes in movies, educational activities, and staff meetings that provide residents with insights into the happenings throughout their shared 53-story home in the heart of one of America’s most culturally diverse cities. “We just ended a great educational series that involved U.S. history and our economic evolution,” he says.

His interest in education is apparent in his recent recognition of 25 years of volunteer service by the Field Museum, where he educates the public about Native American history. He’ll also be honored this fall by the Museum of Science and Industry for 25 years of service there – a volunteer role that parallels well with his industrial engineering background.

To get to his museum duties, he takes advantage of The Clare’s concierge transportation services. He sold his car after he moved to the Gold Coast address.

The Clare “is a community where the people are very warm and everyone from the residents to the staff are interested in getting to know you,” Bob says. “And as opposed to senior living facilities that are spread out, in The Clare, “you hop on and elevator and get to the floor you need to be. It’s a very convenient way of life here.”

Jim Rocks

Jim Rocks was apartment hunting a few years ago when a friend asked, “Why bother? Just go to a retirement community.”

It was a light bulb moment. For Rocks, now 77, such a move made personal and financial sense.

A Chicagoan since 1972 and Near North resident for many of those years, Rocks lives a full, highly independent lifestyle; he and his late wife of 30 years, Judy, had no children, and his closest family is states away. “I get to live that independent life I want at The Clare, plus the possibility of care down the road if it’s necessary,” says Rocks, who moved into the 42nd floor in June 2015. “It’s nice to have that comfort.”

Before he retired 11 years ago, Rocks was a university professor and dean and spent many of those years on the campus of Loyola University, which maintains a strong relationship to the Clare community through programming and activities.

Rocks laughs when he notes, surprisingly, that he’s even busier these days than he was when he was working. And that’s even with The Clare’s staff handling all the things he doesn’t want to do himself: housekeeping, cooking, and home maintenance.

“I’m doing things I couldn’t do when I was working,” Rocks says. “In fact, I’ve been running ragged lately trying to get things done. And with The Clare, you have even more choices of things to do.”

Rocks attends the community’s regular lecture series and educational activities. He exercises four days a week in the fitness center. And he takes full advantage of living in the center of one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world, regularly catching performances at the Chicago Symphony, Lyric Opera, and Goodman Theatre.

That’s when he’s even in Chicago. Rocks is a frequent traveler, sometimes out of town up to two weeks a month as he explores the world. He’s a regular in Europe, and has seen some of Asia, Africa, and the South and Central Americas.

“I live my life, which means going out and being with friends and pursuing these activities,” he says. “I’m still living my life that I lived before I came to The Clare, and more.”

Rocks says it was a good decision to come to The Clare, where he can continue to live independently and have the peace of mind knowing help is nearby. “That’s a very comforting feature to me, and for a lot of people who live here,” he says. “I’m protecting myself against the possibility of the future.”