One of the original residents of the Brandermill Woods Retirement Community Jerry Bourdow turns 100 on April 26th celebrating with family and friends in the Florida Room at the Chesterfield.
Jerry and her late husband Joe moved to Brandermill Woods soon after it opened on October 2, 1987 and immediately became active in the community. Jerry visited new residents as they moved into the new active retirement community, wrote articles for the community newsletter and volunteered for many community events.
She was a popular pianist regularly accompanying the community’s Glee Club and playing for other special events.
When the Club House was completed, she and Joe worked long hours to establish a library for residents, started partially with books they had brought from their home in Alexandria. The popular resident amenity was named the “Bourdow Library” in 1998.
Jerry was born in Saginaw, Michigan, moving to Washington DC following her marriage to Joe, then an Army Captain. In 1951, the family moved to Alexandria and raised two children Joe and Jane. Following Joe’s retirement from the Department of the Army at the Pentagon in 1973 – the Bourdows spent every summer at their Michigan cottage on Saginaw Bay even after moving to Brandermill Woods.
When Joe passed away in November at 101, Jerry became the second longest Brandermill Woods resident.
Jerry loves music, still has perfect pitch, and continues to participate in the many activities offered daily often winning the memory games.
