Get to Know Your Neighbor – Ms. D from the Excelsior

Ms. D is a 3^rd generation San Franciscan, her family is 7^th generation Californian and her home is about 100 years old – in fact, the home was originally built for  Presidio officers, complete with a horse stable in the back.Ms. D has 3 sons, 2 grandchildren and one on the way.  Her Father was a vet and a boxer in the South Pacific during World War II. He also died unexpectedly when she was 11 and she jokes that it was the same year her sister was born and that she’s still mad at her sister for that.

Ms. D also recalled visiting Disneyland on opening day (when she saw a lifeguard with a tattoo – the first time she had ever seen one!), protesting as a youth in Berkeley, and she spent her childhood in the Sunset, with the majority of her family within blocks of each other.  She mentioned that one change about the City in general has been the number of neighborhood restaurants, that when growing up, going out to eat was a rare occasion.

For 18 years, Ms. D worked with the San Francisco Building Department, which she thoroughly enjoyed – she found the work very interesting, enjoyed the camaraderie among her coworkers and enjoyed meeting all the tradespeople that came through the department.  She had retired to spend time with her partner, who died shortly afterwards – and when we talked about what had changed most in her life in the last 10 years, she remarks that she’s more alone than she thought she would be.

While Ms. D is good at staying busy, what with the Mission YMCA, volunteering at Laguna Honda Hospital, visiting her 2 best friends of over 50 years, the SF State’s Professional Association and Camp Mathur (city run campground for seniors and families), she also remarked that since her activity level dropped drastically due to health problems, it sometimes feels overwhelming to be so alone.  This is a sentiment I heard from every one of our senior clients I interviewed this year – Ms. D told me of reading her mother’s journals and that from 78 years until she passed at 85, her mom had written almost exclusively about how hard it was to be alone.

Which is all the more reason to support such a longstanding and delightful community member – she is appreciative of any help the team can give on Rebuilding Day, was delightful to chat with and mentioned that the work we do makes her “happier to come home“.

More about Ms. D