A Chase Countian received one of four lifetime achievement awards given during a statewide meeting of the Kansas Health Care Association, according to information from Jane Lawrence, social services director for the Golden LivingCenter of Chase County care center in Cottonwood Falls.
Ruby Yoakem, 96, received the Marty Hegarty Distinguished Citizen Award in a presentation on Sept. 25.
She and her family attended the ceremony held in Century II in Wichita.
“Ruby has always been one of the highlights of the community,” Lawrence said. “She’s very much a community person.”
Yoakem came to the Golden LivingCenter about three years ago, after being injured in a car accident.
“She fell asleep coming back from her daughter’s house on Christmas night. She was just one little bruise, literally from head to toe,” Lawrence said.
Ruby had a cracked cheekbone and knee injuries, too.
She was released to the care center on Dec. 30, 2005, and the staff had been concerned about how and whether she would recuperate.
“We just didn’t know how well she would do,” Lawrence continued. “She kept telling me, ‘Don’t worry about me. There’s always somebody worse off than I am.’ Actually, you’d walk out feeling better about yourself.”
A tribute written about Ruby in the KHCA convention booklet said: “Even though she was very active in the Daughters of the American Revolution and (Veterans of Foreign Wars) for most of her life, she always put family and community first.”
Lawrence said that Ruby’s attitude is a boon to family, friends, and the caregivers at the center.
“These kids are here all the time,” Lawrence said. “Anything Mom says or does, that’s gold to them. She’s just a pretty remarkable little lady.”