ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 10, 1996 TAG: 9607100062
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BEDFORD
SOURCE: JOANNE POINDEXTER STAFF WRITER
A FOUNDATION ESTABLISHED on frugality and kindness helped usher in a new home for the 3 1/2-year-old Bedford Day Care Center for Adults.
Marjorie and J. Byron "Blimp" Maupin were a couple of lovebirds who were active in their community.
Byron, a retired army ammunitions executive, served on the board of directors of Bedford Memorial Hospital. In addition to her flower club and historical society work, Marjorie helped with the hospital's auxiliary.
After Byron died in 1979, Marjorie sought a suitable memorial to him.
Maupin sought the advice of a financial counselor who suggested she start a nonprofit foundation so she could see the benefits and take a role in how the funds were distributed.
Not long after Maupin had worked out details for the foundation, her brother, LeRoy Sizemore, died. Sizemore, a bachelor who lived most of his life in Richmond, had moved to Bedford to help his sister care for their aunt. He also was doing some estate planning and wanted to leave money to a facility for crippled children.
Maupin added her brother's name to the foundation and started the Maupin-Sizemore Foundation in memory of both men, who were "good, hard workers," said Harry Davis, the foundation's vice president and director.
They "saved and were frugal; didn't throw away money, but they were not cheap," Davis said.
Since the foundation started about three years ago, it has received numerous requests, but Maupin has been selective in how she administers the funds. Tuesday, she was on hand for the groundbreaking for a new foundation project.
The foundation is building a new home for the 31/2-year-old Bedford Day Care Center for Adults, in conjunction with Carilion Bedford Memorial Hospital.
The new center, which will replace facilities at Bedford Memorial Church, is on land adjacent to the hospital's parking lot. The hospital, which owns the land, will operate the center and lease the building from the foundation, Davis said.
Maupin made a "sizable donation" toward the new home, which will cost an estimated $400,000 and will quadruple the center's current space, hospital officials said.
Maupin, who would not reveal the amount of her donation, said she wanted to do something that would help others.
"She's a savvy lady ... a precious lady who doesn't want to talk" about her donations, Davis said.
But when she committed to the center, she wanted a functional facility where families "can feel good about taking their loved ones," Davis said.
The adult day-care center, operated by the hospital's home health department, has an enrollment of 21 elderly adults who are partially dependent on others. Nine to 15 attend on a daily basis, said Linda Lee, manager for the hospital's home health program.
The new center will have a daily capacity of 25, and officials hope to offer some weekend care. Clients can participate in recreational activities and receive physical, occupational and speech therapy.
The Bedford Day Care Center for Adults will provide a place where the elderly can be safe during the day and also where they will find social activity, said Dr. Rose Jensen, director of the Belle Boone Beard Gerontology Center at Lynchburg College.
The adult care center, designed by Fauber Architects P.C. of Forest, fills a gap created by changes in other health care institutions and the aging of the population, Jensen said during the groundbreaking ceremony.
Construction of the facility "is clear evidence that Carilion Bedford Memorial Hospital recognizes the demographic changes in the population," Jensen said., adding her own research shows that centers "such as this, improve the quality of life for members of our community."
C.L. Lewis & Co. is building the center, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.
Two years ago, the hospital talked about closing the adult day-care center because of low attendance. But after a fund-raiser held by the Bedford Community Health Foundation and a show of community support, the hospital decided to keep it open.
The adult center is the Maupin-Sizemore Foundation's third project. It has purchased a building and leased it, for a dollar a year each, to three charities: Shepherd's Table, the Free Clinic and Christian Ministers.
The foundation also is working with Carilion on a new congregational nursing program with churches in Roanoke, Bedford and Radford, and Franklin and Giles counties.
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN SPEARMAN/Staff. Marjorie Maupin receives a hug fromby CNBher friend Ann Cook on Tuesday after a groundbreaking for the
Bedford Day Care Center for Adults. Maupin's foundation paid for a
large part of the $400,000 project. color.