The golden years are truly shining with these amazing Appleby Place residents and their inspiring talents. This article features Gerry B., a talented painter, Josie B., Appleby Place’s very own dancing queen, and Marilyn H., Appleby Place’s superstar singer.
Burlington’s very own Appleby Place Retirement Residence is overflowing with talent. The golden years are truly shining with these amazing residents and their enthralling talents. This article features Gerry B, a talented painter, Josie B, Appleby Place’s very own dancing queen, and Marilyn H, Appleby Place’s superstar singer.
Gerry B: A talented painter
Gerry B. is a versatile artist whose creativity flows like a river, branching out to all sorts of painting mediums from acrylic to oil and watercolours. Arguably, one of his most unique techniques involves using photographic paper, which he dyes before adding watercolour paint and scraping across the surface to create stunning images with life-like reflections. This delicate process gives his work a distinctive shine, making each piece appear very realistic. Gerry’s inspiration dates back to his admiration for none other than the art legend himself, Bob Ross.
Over the years, Gerry has painted countless art pieces, sometimes working on-site and capturing a scene in real time, while other times relying on his imagination or a photograph to guide his brushstrokes. Some of his pieces have even been sold or used for company projects, including by Lindt and Centreville. Gerry’s love for capturing realism has led him to paint sights even here in Burlington, including the ever-so-popular Spencer Smith Park, as well as LaSalle Park and St. Luke’s Church. He has a vast collection of paintings in storage, each carefully photographed and compiled into a book, which he kindly showed us. Flipping through the pages, Gerry explained every painting as if he had just painted it in front of us. We watched the paintings come to life as more than works of art, as moments rich with passion, creativity, and skill. To gain an appreciation for Gerry’s artistry, we are sharing a few images of some of his incredible work.
Josie B.: Appleby Place’s dancing queen
Appleby Place Retirement Residence has its very own dancing queen, Josie B. Josie has been dancing for over 30 years. She’s always had a love for music and making people laugh. She explains that she was in the Air Force for nine and a half years. It was during her time serving that she really started to dance and spread positivity. She explains, “I don’t like negativity, I like doing everything while enjoying it.” It was also during her time in the Air Force that Josie met her husband. She fondly remembers “jiving” with him to songs like “Sweet Caroline” by Neil Diamond, one of her absolute favourites.
Now, she loves to dress up for the festivities that Appleby Place organizes and continues to dance, even becoming assistant line dance teacher at the line dance lessons Appleby Place provides. Take a look at this footage of Josie, in the brown button-up, dancing alongside a Cher impersonator who Appleby Place brought in to entertain their residents.
Josie’s love for dancing, music, and making others happy is demonstrated through her vibrant spirit and energy. Beyond her talent in dancing, she’s a great jokester and loves to put a smile on everyone’s face. Here’s to Josie and spreading joy in all of our lives.
Marilyn H.: A talented singer
Marilyn H. has always had a gorgeous voice, as her husband liked to say. Having been in the East Plains United Church choir for over 25 years, she has always had a love for singing. From “Angels We Have Heard on High” to “The Impossible Dream”, every song she sings brings her immense joy.
She reminisced on how every four years her dad’s church, West Plains United, and her own would join and sing together around Christmas time. Marilyn clearly misses the joyful energy of the choir, but she still enjoys singing today, bringing back some of that energy to Appleby Place.
Marilyn especially loves when Appleby Place has live performances that she can sing along to. Here is a little clip of her singing a Christmas classic, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.”
Burlington’s Appleby Place is filled with residents whose passions and talents continue to inspire those around them, from other residents to volunteers and workers. In Gerry’s breathtaking paintings, Josie’s infectious love for dance and joy, and Marilyn’s beautiful voice and passion for singing, each resident shows the vibrant spirit that Burlington embodies, reminding us all to celebrate daily and embrace creativity.
If you are a local artist, storyteller, or have a unique talent you would like to share, please send an email to talent.localnews@gmail.com for an opportunity to be featured on Burlington’s Got Talent.
