For Gerald DeLano Howard, finding McGregor was almost accidental—but it didn’t take long for him to know he had found home.
A Cleveland Clinic referral gave Gerald several senior living options to explore. McGregor was the first place he stopped.
“I knew I didn’t have to look any further,” he says. “I never knew they had a place like this in East Cleveland.”
Now, four years later, Gerald continues to appreciate everything McGregor has to offer, from the amenities and activities to the clean, welcoming environment. But perhaps what he values most is the opportunity to help others.
Gerald has volunteered with the food bank, helped with projects around the community and supported staff whenever he could including in the storage area when McGregor transitioned from cardboard boxes to storage containers.
“I appreciate living here,” Gerald says. “So if I can help the staff and other residents, I help them.”
That generous spirit extends beyond McGregor. A vegetarian since age 13, Gerald often shares extra food he has delivered with other residents and enjoys creating meals around the people he cares about.
He also enjoys shooting pool, visiting the library and gathering with other residents outside—where he has earned a reputation as something of a house comedian.
But there is much more to Gerald than his sense of humor and helpful nature. He is a writer, poet, inventor, car enthusiast and lifelong lover of words.
Gerald began writing poetry in junior high and high school. He wrote love letters and poems for friends trying to woo girls. Today, he continues writing and is working on The Suitcase of Life, a book based on a true story with fiction intertwined. After more than a year of work, he hopes to see it published early next year.
“I teleport when I’m writing,” Gerald explains. “I can just about remember intricate details when I’m writing about them.”
His love of words runs deep. He describes words as “vehicles that transport thoughts” from one person to another. He enjoys reading, following the news and looking up words in his Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary – often continuing down the page simply because another word catches his attention.
“After God and my parents, pencil and pad are the two best friends I ever had,” he says.
Gerald’s interests don’t stop with his writing. He has loved automobiles since childhood, when he and his friends would call out the makes and models of passing cars. He owns a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL, which he has kept for five years and never drives in the winter. Now he has his eye on a 1937 Oldsmobile Coupe Convertible.
His entrepreneurial spirit is just as strong. Gerald is working on an invention called AutoDogTreats, collaborating with THINKBOX at Case Western Reserve University. The concept would allow dog owners to dispense treats using a chip in a dog collar or credit card.
He is also developing a ministry and scholarship initiative designed to help aspiring church leaders facing financial barriers to seminary and theological education.
A retired salesperson in the electric motor and generator industry, Gerald worked with companies including E-Z Electric Motor Company and served customers such as Chrysler, Ford, Otis and major hospitals, including NASA Lewis Research Center.
Family remains important, too. Gerald grew up in a family of six children, and the siblings who are still living remain close. He is also surrounded by nieces and nephews.
And he still has plenty of dreams.
One day, Gerald would like to rent an RV and see the country – visiting places such as the Hoover Dam and the Sherman Oaks trees.
For Gerald, life is about curiosity, creativity, generosity and leaving something meaningful behind.
“Help as many people as I can and leave this world a better place than when I got here,” says Howard.
That may be the best way to describe Gerald Howard—and the legacy he is creating, one word, one idea and one helping hand at a time.
#McGregorCommunities #Poetry #WritersLife
