New Pond Village Honors Former Walpole Resident as Heart of the Community

Walpole, Mass. – In a moving presentation on Giving Tuesday, New Pond Village, a continuing care retirement community in Walpole, Mass., posthumously honored one of its residents with the annual Heart of the Community Award. In addition to presenting the award to Lois Fitzgerald’s family, the community dedicated the campus Curiosity Shop where she volunteered in her memory.

“Lois was a dedicated volunteer, a friendly face, and perhaps the biggest Red Sox fan I’ve ever known,” said Campus Executive Director Adam Manchester. “We all miss her constant smile, but we’re humbled to honor her through this award and by dedicating the shop to her.”

New Pond Village, a Benchmark Senior Living community, created the Heart of the Community Award to recognize the important role philanthropy plays in enriching lives and to showcase the impact one person can have, especially in their retirement years. Mrs. Fitzgerald raised money for local causes by running the Curiosity Shop inside New Pond Village. Proceeds from the shop, filled with nick-nacks and second-hand items, benefitted the Walpole High School Scholarship Fund and the Walpole Public Library. Mrs. Fitzgerald, who passed away earlier this year, was a long-time Walpole resident and graduated from Walpole High School, where she played softball.

“Mrs. Fitzgerald was very much the heart of New Pond Village, not only serving as a tireless volunteer but also offering her friendship and warm smile to all around her,” said Benchmark Senior Living Chairman and CEO Tom Grape. “In sharing that spirit with the greater Walpole community through her volunteer work, she embodied Benchmark’s core values — Called to Care, Better Together, and Be the Benchmark.”

Mrs. Fitzgerald’s son and daughter were on hand Tuesday to receive the award and commemorate the shop. “It is such an honor that after she had passed away they would still think of her and invite us to represent her,” said Deb Iddings, Mrs. Fitzgerald’s daughter. “She was the most giving person you would find, and the nicest. Even through all of her struggles, no matter what her health was, she would still smile and try to make you feel good.”

About New Pond Village

Set on the banks of Willett Pond in Walpole, Massachusetts, New Pond Village is a Benchmark Lifecare continuing care retirement community recognized for excellence by U.S. News & World Report. As part of Benchmark Senior Living, New Pond Village offers exceptional, maintenance-free senior living, a wide variety of premium services and amenities and a full continuum of on-site healthcare. For more information, please visit www.newpondvillage.com.

###