They found a private apartment through Springbrook, a regional nonprofit service provider, at the organization’s Oak and Elm Community Home. The private apartment is located at the back of the large home in Oneonta’s historic city center. They both recall the incredibly steep stairs, which they joke wasn’t exactly ideal, but nonetheless, they were very happy to have their own space together. They also got a cat and named him Levi.
Chris and Janet both used to work at Creekside Industries, a division of the Arc Otsego in Oneonta. They were part of a team providing outsourcing solutions to businesses that had assembly and packaging needs. But recently they both decided to retire.
Today, Chris lives at Springbrook’s Cook Street Community Home in Worcester. Due to some special health needs, it is getting more difficult for Chris to walk, and it became hard for Janet to care for him. With these concerns in mind, Missy Summers, a Care Manager at Southern Tier Connect, helped Janet secure her apartment in Oneonta and find Chris placement in the Springbrook house. Although they are apart, they still visit often and talk on the phone.
Both Janet and Chris have stopped wearing their wedding rings because they are both worried their rings will slip off and they might lose them. Both of them described how easily their rings slip off their fingers now. Janet keeps hers in a special green keepsake box on her dresser, and Chris wears his wedding ring close to his heart, on a necklace that Janet made for him. He slips it on his finger from time to time when he is thinking of her and says that it helps him to feel close to her when they are apart.
Chris and Janet’s relationship is strong because of their dedication to each other and their support for each other. Maintaining a relationship while apart can be difficult, but their love for each other sees them through the challenge.
Above, clockwise from top left: Photos of Janet and Chris in their first apartment with their cat, Levi; Janet and Chris out to dinner at a Mexican restaurant and on a tour of the Alamo during their honeymoon vacation to Texas.