Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, December 5, 2020

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Mountain View News Saturday, December 5, 2020 

NOTICING MEMORY PROBLEMS? 

WHAT TO DO NEXT

SENIOR HAPPENINGS


HAPPY BIRTHDAY! …December Birthdays*

Maria Decker, Nancy Dorn, Prudence Levine Pat Karamitros, Joan Hufnagel, 
Mary Alice Cervera, Carol Horejsi, Shirley Anhalt, Helen Reese, Levon Yapoujian, 
Toni Buckner, Lottie Bugl, Pat McGuire, Sheila Wohler, Nan Murphy, Eleanor 
Hensel, Sylvia Curl, Elizabeth Levie, Gayle Licher, Cindy Barran, and Melissa 
Stute, Prudence Levin, Sheila Woehler. * To add your name to this distinguished 
list, please call the paper at 626.355.2737. YEAR of birth not required

Dear Savvy Senior:

My mom, who’s 76, has become more forgetful lately 
and is worried she may be getting Alzheimer’s disease. 
What resources can you recommend to help us get a 
handle on this? Oldest Daughter

Dear Oldest:

Many seniors worry about memory lapses as they get older, fearing it may be the first signs of Alzheimer’s 
disease or some other type of dementia. To get some insight on the seriousness of your 
mom’s problem, here are some key warning signs to be vigilant of and some resources you can turn 
to for help. 

Warning Signs

As we grow older, some memory difficulties – such as trouble remembering names of people or 
places or forgetting where you put your glasses or car keys – are associated with normal aging. But 
the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease are much more than simple memory lapses.

 Knowing the early warning signs is a good first step in recognizing the difference between typical 
age-related memory loss and a more serious problem. To help you evaluate your mom’s condition, 
here’s a checklist of some common early symptoms to watch for:

Asking the same questions repeatedly.

Getting lost in familiar areas.

Failing to recognize familiar people.

Having difficulty following directions.

Misplaces items in inappropriate places, for example putting her keys in the microwave.

Having difficulty completing familiar tasks like cooking a meal or paying a bill.

Having trouble remembering common words when speaking or mixing up words.

For more information, see the Alzheimer’s Association list of 10 early signs and symptoms at 10signs.
org.

Another good tool to help you evaluate your mom is the Self-Administered Gerocognitive Exam 
(SAGE test) that was developed at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. This free test 
helps identify mild cognitive impairment and early dementia and can be taken at home in about 10 
to 15 minutes. The SAGE test can be taken online at BrainTest.com.

Get Help

If you would rather have professional assistance in evaluating your mom, the Alzheimer’s Foundation 
of America (see alzfdn.org) is another good resource you can turn to.

 Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday they provide free, confidential virtual memory screenings 
done via video chat in real time. Your mother will need a phone, tablet or computer with a webcam 
and internet capability to complete the screening.

 The screenings are given by healthcare professionals and take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. 
Once the screening is complete, the screener will review the results with her and let her know if she 
should see a doctor for further evaluation. To set up a memory screening for your mom call 866-
232-8484 and make an appointment.

If you find that your mom does need further evaluation, make an appointment with her primary
care doctor for a cognitive checkup and medical examination. Depending on what’s found, she may 
be referred to a geriatrician or neurologist who specializes in diagnosing and treating memory loss 
or Alzheimer’s disease.

 Keep in mind that even if your mom is experiencing some memory problems, it doesn’t necessarily 
mean she has early-stage Alzheimer’s. Many memory problems are brought on by other factors like 
stress, depression, thyroid disease, side effects of medications, sleep disorders, vitamin deficiencies 
and other medical conditions. And by treating these conditions she can reduce or eliminate the 
problem.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.
org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” 
book.


SENIOR ACTIVITIES IN SIERRA MADRE

CHAIR YOGA Every Monday and Wednesday, 10-10:45 am Chair yoga with Paul is coming back! Class will 
begin on Monday, August 10th and will be held in the Covered Pavilion in Memorial Park in front of the Senior 
Center. Please join us for some gentle stretching, yoga, balance exercise and overall relaxa-tion. Class size is limited 
so please call 264-8923 to reserve your spot. 

HAWAIIAN AND POLYNESIAN DANCE CLASS Every Friday, 10-10:45 am Class will also meet in the Cov-
ered Pavilion in Memorial Park in front of the Senior Center. Join the class with instructor Barbara as she leads 
you through the art of Hula. Please call 264-8923 with any questions. 

Classes will maintain a distance of 6 ft between participants. ALL participants must be wearing masks for the 
duration of the class. All equipment used will be sanitized after each use before it is stored. Each participant is 
responsible for providing their own water, masks and needed equipment or sup-plies for each class. Please call the 
Community Services Department at 355-5278 with any questions or concerns.

OCTOBER CRAFT

Wednesday, October 21, 11:00 am. Please join me as we try our hands at making Wooden Owl Orna-ments. This 
will be a new type of program as we create our masterpieces via Zoom to ensure all of our safety. I will have all the 
supplies individually packaged and ready for pickup on Monday, October 19th pickup will be between 10:00 am-
2:00 pm. I will have enough supplies for 10 participants. Reservations are required so please call 355-5278 x 704 
to secure your spot. Please note that this is an ONLINE class that will be held via Zoom. We will not be meeting 
in the Hart Park House Senior Center.

IDEAS

 Do you have any ideas for programming? Is there a class or club you would like to see in our Senior Community? 
Please call or email Lawren Heinz with ideas or questions. 626-355-5278 x 704 lheinz@cityofsierramadre.com

 City staff are monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement 
and interfacing less with the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 
being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner. If at any time additional information is needed, please 
contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are 
taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate per-son. For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note 
our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

SIERRA MADRE SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS PLAN

The City of Sierra Madre is following these procedures to provide current communication in light of COVID-19 
and keep the Senior Community and families informed of essential information and resources. City staff are 
monitoring email communication daily, and although employees are minimizing direct engagement and practicing 
social distancing in the community, please note that voice messages, emails, and social media responses are 
being addressed in the most efficient and timely manner.

If at any moment additional information is needed, please contact City Hall Administrative Services at (626) 355-
7135, Monday-Thursday from 7:30a – 5:30p, as they are taking messages and e-mailing the appropriate person.

 For messages that may trickle in otherwise, please note our team is remotely checking voicemail daily at the 
Community Services Department, (626) 355-5278 x702.

 Community Services Department will continue email communication with Senior residents and aging community 
members.

 If you know of family members or neighbors who may benefit from accessing information electronically, and 
to receive the department’s Seniors Newsletter via email but may not otherwise have been included on an email 
group list, please send your request with email address to the following team members: Lawren Heinz Lheinz@
cityofsierramadre.com and Clarissa Lowe Clowe@cityofsierramadre.com.

 City Social Media will continue via Facebook as well as Instagram, and information sharing will include updates 
as details becomes available.

Mater Dolorosa - Sierra Madre Meal Pick-Up Program provides seal-packaged frozen meals, 5-per person 
every Thursday, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. at Hart Park House Senior Center 222 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. Donations 
are accepted. Call (626) 355-5278; x702 or 704. YWCA Intervale Meal Program - Effective 
Wednesday, April 1, 2020

YWCA has transitioned their distribution of take home meals at the Sierra Madre Hart Park House 
Senior Center to a home-delivery meal program. Participants previously reserved for meal pick-up 
as of Wednesday, 3/25/20 were informed that they would begin to have their meals delivered to their 
homes, beginning Wednesday, April 1, 2020 until further notice.

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


REMARRYING IN MIDLIFE? AVOID 

ACCIDENTLY DISINHERITING YOUR 
LOVED ONES!

OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder


Today, we’re seeing 
more and more people 
getting divorced 
in middle age and 
beyond. In fact, 
roughly one in four 
divorces involve those over 50, and divorce rates for 
this demographic have doubled in the past 30 years, 
according to the study Gray Divorce Revolution. 
For those over age 65, divorce rates have tripled. 
With divorce coming so late in life, the financial fallout 
can be quite devastating. Indeed, Bloomberg.com found 
that the standard of living for women who divorce after 
age 50 drops by some 45%, while it falls roughly 21% for 
men. Given the significant decrease in income and the 
fact people are living longer than ever, it’s no surprise 
that many of these folks also choose to get remarried. 
And those who do get remarried frequently bring 
one or more children from previous marriages into 
the new union, which gives rise to an increasing 
number of blended families. Regardless of age or 
marital status, all adults over age 18 should have 
some basic estate planning in place, but for those with 
blended families, estate planning is particularly vital. 
Here, we’ll use three different hypothetical scenarios to 
discuss how a failure to update your estate plan after 
a midlife remarriage has the potential to accidently 
disinherit your closest family members, as well as 
deplete your assets down to virtually nothing. From 
there, we’ll look at how these negative outcomes can 
be easily avoided using a variety of different planning 
solutions.

Scenario #1: Accidentally disinheriting your children 
from a previous marriage

John has two adult children, David and Alexis, 
from a prior marriage. He marries Moira, who 
has one adult child, Patrick. The blended family 
gets along well, and because he trusts Moira will 
take care of his children in the event of his death, 
John’s estate plan leaves everything to Moira.
After just two years being married, John dies suddenly 
of a heart attack, and his nearly $1.4 million in assets 
go to Moira. Moira is extremely distraught following 
John’s death, and although she wants to update her plan 
to include David and Alexis, she never gets around to 
it, and dies just a year after John. Upon her death, all of 
the assets she brought into the marriage, along with all 
of John’s assets, pass to Moira’s son Patrick, while David 
and Alexis receive nothing. 

There are several planning options John could’ve 
used to avoid this outcome. He could have created a 
revocable living trust that named an independent 
successor trustee to manage the distribution of his 
assets upon his death to ensure a more equitable 
division of his estate between his spouse and children. 
Or, he could have created two separate trusts, one for 
Moira and one for his children, in which John specified 
exactly what assets each individual received. He might 
have also taken advantage of tax-free gifts to his two 
children during his lifetime. 


Scenario #2: Accidentally disinheriting your spouse

Mark was married to Gwen for 30 years, and they had 
three children together, all of whom are now adults. 
When their kids were young, Mark and Gwen both 
created wills, in which they named each other as their 
sole beneficiaries. When they were both in their 50s, 
and their kids had grown, Bob and Gwen divorced. 
Several years later, at age 60, Bob married Veronica, 
a widow with no children of her own. Bob was very 
healthy, so he didn’t make updating his estate plan a 
priority. But within a year of his new marriage, Bob 
died in a car accident.

Bob’s estate plan, written several decades ago, leaves 
all of his assets to ex-wife Gwen, or, if she is not living 
at the time of his death, to his children. State law 
presumes that Gwen has predeceased Bob because they 
divorced after the will was enacted. Thus, all of Bob’s 
assets, including the house he and Veronica were living 
in, pass to his children. Veronica receives nothing, and 
is forced out of her home when Bob’s children sell it. 

By failing to update his estate plan to reflect his current 
situation, Bob unintentionally disinherited Veronica 
and forced her into a precarious financial position just 
as she was entering retirement. If Bob had worked with 
an estate planning attorney to create a living trust, he 
could have arranged his assets so they would go to, and 
work for, exactly the people he wanted them to benefit. 
Scenario #3: Allowing Assets to Become Depleted

Steve is a divorcee in his early 60s with two adult children 
when he marries Susan. Steve has an estate valued at 
around $850,000, and he has told his kids that after he 
passes away, he hopes they will use the money that’s left 
to fund college accounts for their own children. But he 
also wants to ensure Susan is cared for, so he establishes 
a living trust in which he leaves all his assets to Susan, 
and upon her death, the remainder to his two children.
Yet, soon after Steve dies, Susan suffers a debilitating 
stroke. She requires round-the-clock in-home care 
for several decades, which is paid for by Steve’s trust. 
When she does pass away, the trust has been almost 
totally depleted, and Steve’s children inherit virtually 
nothing.

An experienced estate planning attorney could have 
helped Steve avoid this unfortunate outcome. Steve 
could have stipulated in his living trust that a certain 
portion of his assets must go to his children upon 
his death, while the remainder passed to Susan.


Bringing families together
Along with other major life events like births, deaths, 
and divorce, entering into a second (or more) marriage 
requires you to review and rework your estate plan. And 
updating your plan is exponentially more important 
when there are children involved. 

Dedicated to empowering your family, building your 
wealth and defining your legacy,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission 
to help parents protect what they love

most. His office is located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024. Schedule an

appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a 
legacy of love and financial security for your

family by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.CaliLaw.
com for more information.

IT WAS A SHOOFLY PIE MOMENT

During holiday seasons, I enjoy indulging in special food. My favorite during this time of 
year is the Shoofly Pie. Nothing hits the spot quite like this.

Although the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage restricts this kind of culinary activity during 
the rest of the year, I tried to get a pass for it during the holidays. I don't care what holiday 
it is, a hol-iday is a holiday and deserves special food.

I don't remember when I had my first shoofly pie, I only focus on my next piece. When I first brought it into 
the home, my wife asked me what in the world it was. I told her it was a Shoofly Pie.. Looking at me rather 
quizzically, she said, "What is a Shoofly Pie??"

Not even thinking about it, I smiled and replied, "It is a piece of heaven this side of heaven." Then she wanted 
to know where in the world that name "Shoofly Pie" came from. Not really knowing, I "baked up" a story I 
thought would please her. 

The story went something like this. A lady in Pennsylvania was trying to make a special pie for her husband. It 
took her several days to figure out how she would make this special pie. Finally, she came up with something 
she had never seen before.

When presented to her husband, he was dumbfounded and said, "What is that pie?" Before she could answer, 
a fly seemed to hover over the pie, and she swatted it and said, "shoo-fly." The husband looked at her and said, 
"That is marvelous. Whoever heard of a shoofly pie? You’re a genius." And thus, the Shoofly Pie adventure began. 
Whether that comes near the story or not, it sounded good to me at the time, and I presented it to my wife.

Where we live, it's tough to find any Shoofly Pie. Typically, I have to order it from someplace up north.

Once we were at a nearby restaurant, I talked to the waitress about the Shoofly Pie of which she had never 
heard. My wife had the recipe, so we shared it with her. She wanted to surprise us with a homemade Shoofly 
Pie. When she gave it to us, it was nothing like a real Shoofly Pie. We joyfully took it, but it really wasn't the 
real thing.

As I was thinking about this shoofly pie mystery, I thought of how this concept would work in other aspects 
of life.

For example. I would like to develop a Shoo-Politician Pie. Perhaps this would be a great experi-ence for us. 
Every time we see a politician, we present him with a Shoo-Politician Pie. How much greater our life would be 
if politicians would not be the center focus of our life.

When a politician gives a speech, he or she will be charged one dollar per word. After all, one dollar isn't much 
and neither is there speech. Of course, this would need to be paid upfront. As soon as the politician reaches the 
end of his word count, everybody would say, "Shoo-Politician."

I think this would bring a lot of sanity back to our country today. Then I thought of another pie to develop. I’ll 
call this the Shoo-Telemarketer Pie. This is second only to politicians.

To date, I have received over 1 million calls that said, "This is the last call you'll get to renew your car warranty."

I have searched my dictionary to discover what the definition of "last call" is. I guess it has a dif-ferent meaning 
to different people. Even my wife agrees with me on this. And you know, that's a monumental achievement.

I don't know why they call them telemarketers, but I sure would like to tell them a thing or two.

Another pie I would like to develop would be the Shoo-Grumpy Pie. I have found so many grumpy people 
lately. I'm not sure where they come from and I'm not quite sure where they're going, but I do have my guesses.

I cannot identify with grumpy people because I'm not quite sure why they're grumpy. The thing I have noticed 
lately is, grumpy is not a matter of age. There are grumpy people of all ages. I'm not quite sure how this began.

If anybody has the right to be grumpy, it's someone like me who has to listen to those people who are grumpy.

How much happier this world would be if there were no grumpy people in it? I know there are grumpy moments, 
but that shouldn't be forever. Nothing is more frustrating than standing in line at the cash register 
behind some old grumpy customer exhibiting grumpy-itis. I wonder if it's con-tagious?

Thinking about this, my list is getting longer and longer. There are so many things that I would like to Shoo 
from my life that I probably need to go into the "Shoo Pie Baking Business."

Thinking along this line I remembered a verse in the Bible. "Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye 
separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you" (2 Corinthians 6:17).

The older I get the more things I see that I need to “shoo” from my life. At times, it’s difficult, but the end result 
is what really matters. One last pie would be the “Shoo-Sin Pie.”


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com