have friends live in our home and take care of it while we enjoyed AZ. In our 3rd year in AZ my husband suddenly passed away from a heart attack right on our 44th wedding anniversary. Wow! This was something I had not factored in when we made the decision to go to AZ. After surviving the shock of being alone, I decided to stay in AZ and continue to work there. After seven years, I retired and moved back to Lindstrom. Retirement lasted 8 months when I knew I had to do something more meaningful. I got hired with Ecumen Point Pleasant Heights and have been here ever since my return to MN. When you love what you do it is not work at all. 

I joined Rotary as part of my employment with Ecumen. It's a great networking opportunity and a way to give back to the community. While in AZ I did attend a few Rotary meetings so I knew what a great organization Rotary is and I'm proud to make a difference in people's lives. 

Rotary gives me a great satisfaction in doing good for the people we serve. I enjoy the new friendships that have developed and feel I'm a better person through Rotary. 

Meet our Member: Darlene Shafer

​​Greetings! I'm Darlene Shafer from Lindstrom MN. I was born in Superior WI and lived in Dairyland WI until I was 11 years old. We moved to Shafer MN and I've been a resident now of the Chisago Lakes area for most of my life. I have one daughter, Kim. She and her husband live in Brainerd. My passion has been to help people my entire life. I worked for Chisago County Human Services for 25 years as a financial specialist. As a medical assistance worker, I helped people without financial resources to provide for their needs as they entered skilled nursing home care. My next adventure was to open Meadows on Fairview, a new assisted living in Wyoming MN. It was rewarding to tour seniors and get them settled into a new life style. Living in the assisted living community was a new experience for them. During my years at the Meadows, I was recruited to go to work in Phoenix AZ for another continuing care community.

I moved to Phoenix and enjoyed the job and the weather. Once I knew it was a good move, I road tripped my husband and 2 cats to Phoenix. Our Oldsmobile Bravado pulled a uhaul trailer with everything we needed. We kept our home in Lindstrom as I knew we would not stay in AZ long term. Our roots were in MN. We were fortunate to