The go-getter grandma who officiated 1,300 weddings
This is the first of our resident profiles in celebration of our 60th anniversary. Every month we will be sharing stories from residents who make our communities truly exceptional. We're kicking off the series with Geri.
Geri is a doer. She has held over a dozen jobs and volunteer positions, from being a director of human resources to leading a monthly Shabbat service at a nursing home for ten years. She has even officiated more than 1,300 weddings as a justice of the peace. It is a rare day that she is not on the NuStep exercise machine at the end of her hall by 7:30 a.m.
Geri is the coolest grandmother you have ever met — a title given to her by former coworkers — and the person sitting in the back of the room at 2Life events so she can lend a hand to latecomers who need help getting through the door.
She has never shied away from a challenge, whether that is taking the MBTA solo from Dorchester to downtown Boston as a nine year old or starting night school to earn a college degree at 35 with two young kids. She is also not afraid to start a new chapter. After swimming a mile every morning for more than 25 years, Geri switched to workouts in the fitness center such as the balance class and chair yoga. And after many rewarding years of officiating weddings, she married her last couple in 2024 because, as she puts it, she wanted to go out on top, feeling strong.
Geri always wanted to live in a place like 2Life, so much so that when she heard 2Life was looking to build a community in Framingham, she went to every town hall meeting to talk about the benefits of senior housing and stood in front of her local Stop & Shop grocery store getting signatures for a petition to support the project.
“I don't like to just sit and do nothing,” Geri says. “I like to be a doer and get things done.”
When she was ready to move into Shillman House, more than 10 years after it opened, Geri began another new chapter with friends living in the community she’d advocated for.
