Oak Hammock Resident Testimonials

• Where are you from? Where have you lived before moving to OH?

  DS: We retired in Gainesville before moving from Oak Hammock. Before that, we lived in Atlanta. I am an army brat so I have lived overseas and in many states.

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• What was your career?

  JS: Well I’m happily retired now, after 43 years in public school education as a teacher and an administrator. I was the principal of Lincoln Middle School, here in Gainesville, for 16 years.

  DS: I started as a speech pathologist and worked with deaf children for seven years. I also worked as an assistant principal, the assistant director of special education for 5,000 students with special needs, and the executive director of 51 schools. I then worked as a superintendent in Atlanta.

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• What is your biggest accomplishment (professionally or personally)?

  DS: My biggest accomplishment is helping implement Public Law 94242. This is when special education came out of the basement into the classroom. I also worked with 51 schools in need. We built new state-of-the-art buildings to ensure educational equity for all students, regardless of the income level of their households.

  JS: I was on the cutting edge for the development of middle schools in the United States and the world during the late 60s and early 70s. When I was the principal of Lincoln, we did many innovative things and were considered a model school in curriculum and instructional delivery system. I also went overseas, where I worked in the Middle East establishing school systems for adolescents.

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• What is a goal of yours in your retirement?

  JS: My goal in retirement is to continue learning as much as I can. That’s what made Oak Hammock so attractive. Living in Gainesville the past few years and having gone to school here, I know the reputation of Oak Hammock is outstanding. It wasn't a hard decision to come here. I learned about all of the classes offered here. The continuous learning cycle was very important to us when deciding to move.

  DS: My goal is to stay as healthy. That’s easy with all the exercise options here at Oak Hammock.

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• Do you have any hidden talents?

  JS: I am a tenor and have been singing all my life. I joined the Oak Hammock chorus, and I look forward to working with them.

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• What do you like to do in your spare time?

  DS: I love water aerobics here at Oak Hammock. We love to take walks, and we volunteer at a local middle school. John is in the chorus, and I joined the travel club. We are loving the ILR classes that take place every day.

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• What made you want to join the OH community?

  JS: Joining the Oak Hammock community was originally Daun’s idea. She was concerned about continuous care as we age. I was concerned about it too, because I didn't want to be a burden to my family.

  DS: I had a bad experience in a different short-term skilled nursing facility. I didn’t want to have that experience again, so I started doing some research. I became very interested in Oak Hammock’s well-known continuous care.   

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• What is one thing you would want the residents/and prospective residents of Oak Hammock to know?

  DS: There are unbelievable people here. They have been so welcoming to us. They have such rich experiences and a variety of educational backgrounds. It truly is a learning community and we are so excited to be a part of it.

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John and Daun are so excited to be a part of the Oak Hammock community. Like many of our residents, they plan to focus on continuing education and staying active and healthy. Oak Hammock provides them with many amenities and ILR courses so they can reach their goals. Oak Hammock provides a fulfilling life in retirement to residents who lived full careers, like John and Daun Spindler.

To view videos created by our residents about our residents, visit us on YouTube.