Karen Frink and Nora Bogehegn, who have been good friends, fellow volunteers, and active in the Danish community, are now close neighbors. Karen, formerly of Mt. Prospect and Nora, formerly of Elk Grove, both live at The Danish Home of Chicago. While the move to the senior living community was recent for both, it also seemed inevitable. “I’d always planned on eventually moving here and decided to do so sooner rather than later. I want to live here, be active, and enjoy it,” said Karen.
Nora was born in Denmark, and Karen is of Danish descent. Both have been very involved with the local Danish community and Scandinavian clubs and organizations for years. “We’ve both been active volunteering, donating and coming to different functions at The Danish Home for years, and we’re both members of the Women’s Auxiliary. We’ve been affiliated with The Danish Home all our lives. It’s always been like our second home,” said Karen.
“I never looked anywhere else to live other than The Danish Home,” said Nora. When she and her husband moved in about a year ago, he had Alzheimer’s. “At first, we lived together here. He was declining quickly, and I had access to the help I needed. When I couldn’t care for him any longer, he moved to the healthcare suite here. We still were able to live under the same roof, but I didn’t have all the responsibility any longer.”
“Living here,” said Karen, “is like living in a five-star hotel. They provide our meals, clean our apartments, and do our laundry. They plan lots of activities and have special celebrations for birthdays and holidays. The neighborhood is beautiful. This is really a boutique community.”
Another perk of living at The Danish Home for Nora and Karen is the ease of hosting their Ladies Lunch Club. Years ago, a mutual friend of theirs held a luncheon for about ten friends. “One of the guests said that it was a lot of fun and suggested we get together every month or so, and we would each bring something,” said Karen. “We did that for years, but then hadn’t met since 2019 because of COVID. When we decided to bring it back again, we thought we could have it here in August. The Danish Home prepared the traditional Danish open-face sandwiches for everyone, so no one had to bring anything. We had a great time and we’ll have it here again.”
Karen and Nora are enjoying their lives at The Danish Home. “The staff is very nice, helpful and kind.” Regarding the food, Nora said, “Oooh, boy, it’s the best. Other senior living communities have cooks. We have chefs. They are people with talent and are especially good at making Danish food. We’ve even had a Danish pastry chef.”
“The residents at The Danish Home,” Karen, said, “are kind of like an extended family. We truly are the staff’s number one priority and enjoy being with each other.”