Celebrating a community within a community
On Saturday, August 12, the Manor dining room was buzzing with activity to celebrate two longtime employees that poured their heart into what they both called their “second family” at the nursing home. Dave Bender, with 19 years in Maintenance and LaVonne Cashman, with 41 years in Dietary were joined by their families, friends along with coworkers and residents. The gathering not only celebrated Cashman and Bender’s service at the Manor but also the impact they had on what the nursing home is to so many who spend their days and nights there: a community within a community.
“You see my family over there,” Bender pointed toward his wife, children and grandchildren in the dining room during his speech at the celebration. “Well you look around the room and see my second family, here at the Manor, this is what I always called my second family.”
As Bender continued with his speech, Cashman, seated at a table, nodded her head as he spoke about the Manor family, smiling in agreement. As he joked with her it was evident that their relationship as coworkers had grown over the past nearly two decades into a deep and cherished friendship.
The celebration for these two fixtures at the Manor was both lovely and bittersweet at the same time, as Cashman, earlier this year had been diagnosed with cancer. Sadly, one week after the party, on Saturday August 19, 2023, Cashman passed away. Her full obituary can be found in this week’s print and e-edition on PAGE FOUR
During the party, Bender and Cashman spoke fondly of the time they worked at the nursing home and the special relationships made.
Fellow employees Jodi Starr and Lynelle Schroeder, also Cashman’s sister, chimed in on their relationship.
“Dave and LaVonne were always ribbing each other and were more like brother and sister,” Schroeder said. “You knew she’d give you an honest answer whether you wanted it or not. I really think a lot of past and current employees looked up to her because of that honesty and because she knew her stuff. Three quarters of her life she was there.”
Starr said that after her shift, Cashman’s office was the first stop she made and often, she’d find Bender there too.
“When you get off shift and she’s in her office, just being able to go in and talk to her about whatever, she always listened. You could find Dave leaning into her door frame talking to her almost every day. He would visit with her or they would pick on each other. He’d steal her candy bars and dessert off her desk and always get a reaction out of her.”
Bender said that when you work in a place that is also a home to people, you put in the extra effort to make it the best place it can be.
“We are here to take care of the residents and the place they live in. I give credit to the aides and nurses, they do they tough work and they do a wonderful job with it,” Bender said. “Before I started working here almost 20 years ago I didn’t know what to think about a nursing home, you hear all those stories. Not here, not at all. I told my wife that down the road when it’s time for me and I need this type of care then I’ll gladly go to the Manor. This is home, this is family.”