Navy veteran takes life easy at Wellhaven Senior Living
Bob Zenk knows exactly how long he served in the United States Navy: three years, one month and 14 days.
When he first joined the Navy, Bob selected tactical use of radar as a focus. He attended school for two months in Florida. Once completed, he was shipped to Hawaii.
“I was assigned to a destroyer escort, and the ship was training submarines. We were working with submarine crews to acquaint them with different attack methods. I was on board for a couple of months when the Japanese surrendered, bringing World War II to a close. We were sent back to Merritt Island in California,” he explained.
Bob travelled around the country to continue to train submarine crews.
“We went to Panama Canal, FL, and then up to New London, CT, and Newport, RI. We spent some time in Boston and New York City. After that, I made the decision to leave the Navy,” Bob said.
Bob returned to college at St. Mary’s College in Winona, MN. He graduated with a degree in chemistry and began to work in the development of chemical products at 3M in St. Paul.
Bob and his wife, Alice, were living in Roseville and decided that it was getting too crowded.
“We started looking for a small town. We picked River Falls and moved there in 1964,” he explained.
For the past two years, Bob has resided at Wellhaven Senior Living in River Falls, WI.
“Before, I lived in a condo, but I couldn’t keep up with the housework,” Bob said, “I don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff now. I like that I’m taken care of here.”
Bob began to host movie nights for his fellow Wellhaven tenants. Two nights during the week, Bob will invite everyone to gather to watch a movie together.
Bob is only one of 80 veterans currently residing in a TLHA care community. In our 120th year of caring for souls, we are honoring both our veteran residents and team members. Our history begins with one family’s loss during the Civil War. A 15-year-old Ernst Boessling from Belle Plaine volunteered to serve with the Minnesota troops. He died in September of 1863 in service to his country at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
His mother, Sophie, had saved the government death benefits she received all the years after Ernst died. Wanting to provide a home for others like herself, she donated the money and her family’s farmland to build das Alten und Waisenheim—the Aged and Orphans’ Home. Now more than a century later, Sophie’s gift continues to benefit countless lives.
TLHA has active senior living, assisted living and memory care communities in Belle Plaine Minnesota, and River Falls, Fountain City, and Watertown, Wisconsin. Looking for a place to call home? Visit www.tlha.org/communities.