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Judi Lee loves to travel! She has visited many U.S. National Parks, countless waterfalls, and three continents – Europe, Asia, and Antarctica. Now at Sterling Court, Judi felt welcome right from the start. She plays games, walks around the beautiful neighborhood, and enjoys her neighbors. “My next-door neighbor is wonderful,” she says. “We look out for each other.”
Judi grew up in San Francisco, where she met her husband, Bowman, just after high school. He spotted her walking down the street and asked a friend for an introduction. Though he lived in San Mateo, a long trek back then, they got to know each other, dated, and soon married.
The couple settled on the Peninsula, welcomed a daughter, Jennifer, and worked hard. Bowman was in the oil business with his family, while Judi worked at IBM. They loved their frequent trips to Hawaii, but Judi was eager to see more of the world. After retirement, Bowman started as a reluctant traveler. “My husband insisted we see all the U.S. National Parks first before we went abroad! I remember Yellowstone, when a bison just stood staring at us. I said, ‘No, I’m not taking a picture with him. I’m walking away!’”
Once they began traveling abroad, they never looked back. “One year we went out five times!” says Judi. They saw most of Europe, then ventured to Russia, where they marveled at the Kremlin, Lenin’s Mausoleum, and the vast underground network of subways, shops, and businesses.
“I’ll tell you a country we went to that surprises people – we traveled to Iran.” They wanted to see Persepolis, the ancient city founded around 515 BCE and were amazed. “It was huge, and so many things were intact!” Visiting during Thanksgiving brought another surprise. “They actually served us a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings. I couldn’t believe it.”
Egypt was another favorite. “We went twice! I have albums full of our travels.” Inspired by a PBS special, they also explored China’s ancient carved caves. “We’re history buffs!” says Judi. After weeks of sightseeing there, she was ready for a change of pace. A guide sent them down the street, where they discovered the perfect thing – a pizza parlor.
“My husband was also interested in seeing all the waterfalls, and we covered them all. The only one we missed, which I regretted, was Niagara Falls.” Everywhere they went, Judi felt comfortable and found people welcoming.
Judi and Bowman were married 63 years before he passed away two years ago. She divided her time between Emerald Hills and visiting her daughter in Maui. When Jennifer moved to Las Vegas, Judi knew the desert heat wasn’t for her and chose a new path. “I didn’t want to cook anymore or clean,” she says. With her daughter’s blessing, she sold her house, and friends introduced her to Sterling Court. “They even took the tour for me!”
Other communities never felt right. “I didn’t want to buy, pay taxes, and all that,” Judi explains. “I wanted a two-bedroom because I have a lot of stuff, even though it’s just me, and I wanted laundry in the room.”
She found exactly what she wanted at Sterling Court. “I love to walk in the morning. This is a nice residential area, and I feel safe. I just walk over to Burlingame Avenue!” She also appreciates how friendly everyone is.
And then there are the games. A new Mahjong group just formed, and Judi’s luck was strong – she won all four games! She also enjoys Chinese Checkers and Mexican Train. Basically, Judi is game for anything!
“My philosophy is ‘Life is too short,’ so I’m ready to try anything!” says Judi. Spoken like a true world traveler.
Janice Platt can’t hide that she’s a Jersey girl! “Fresh from New Jersey!” she laughs. “Everyone who talks to me asks, ‘Are you from New Jersey? New York?’ It’s like I have a sign on my head!”
That’s one of the many things Janice enjoys about Sterling Court – along with the exercise classes and art lectures – she meets interesting people from all kinds of backgrounds. “There are people from all over,” she says. “The dining room is a lot of fun because the food is terrific, and the conversation is lively.”
Janice, her parents, and both sets of grandparents were all born in the Bronx. When she was little, her parents moved to Paramus, New Jersey, where she had a wonderful upbringing. Then she attended NYU to earn her teaching degree.
Around this time, her best friend set her up on a blind date – and it clicked. She married Arthur, a commercial photographer specializing in jewelry and watches. A few years later, they welcomed their son, Cliff. Once Cliff started preschool, Janice returned to teaching, working with kindergarten through 2nd grade. She later earned a graduate degree in education, becoming a reading specialist. “I went to a local college,” she says. “I was teaching, raising my son, running a house – I had no time to schlep anywhere!”
When Janice was just 39, she lost Arthur to cancer. Her response? Keep going. “I enjoyed my job, I loved my son, and I looked after myself,” she says. “I worked and came home.”
Two years later, as Cliff was leaving for college, Janice told him she was thinking about dating again and asked if that would be OK. “He was enthusiastically for it!” she says. “I realized I was digging myself in a hole – what if he’d said no?!”
Janice didn’t rush. Four years later, in 1997, she attended a brunch for older singles at a local temple and met her future husband, Jerry. “I’ve been lucky. I had two good husbands.”
In 2023, Janice lost Jerry and then broke her hip. Her stepsons, Eric and Todd, and daughter-in-law Alison, rallied to help her, and Cliff flew out from California for a month. They’d talked about her moving west, and now it was time.
“I didn’t come to California for the weather, even though the sun is magnificent! I came to be close to my son, my daughter-in-law Tiffany, and my grandchildren, Avery and Charlotte.”
Janice was recovering from her hip injury, so Tiffany searched for her new home. “She liked Sterling Court the best. I moved here sight unseen.” Janice figured if she didn’t like it, she’d look elsewhere. “I haven’t looked at all. I just like it here so much,” she says. Janice enjoys walking around the neighborhood to admire the colorful gardens. “Everything is so pretty.” She loves the Art Appreciation program with Adam Donovan, speaking so enthusiastically that she stops herself to joke, “If I say too many good things, you’ll need a reservation!” She also plays games with other residents and recently attended her first Chat with Chef Denis.
Janice has been at Sterling Court for about 10 months but felt welcome from day one. “My first day, people said, ‘Oh, you’re new! Where are you from?’ I wondered how they knew, but you get to know everyone!”
Janice has made new friends here and sees her family every week, plus she stays in touch with friends and her family back home. “I’ve had a good life, and there’s more to come,” says Janice. “I’m very happy here.”
When Ann Aroyan moved to Sterling Court in late April, she knew she was ready for a change. After briefly living in Menlo Park, she realized something was missing. “It was beautiful, and I was close to my daughter and grandchildren, but there wasn’t much interaction with neighbors,” she recalls. Community was what she wanted most.
Finding her next home was truly a family effort. She and her daughter explored several communities, narrowing the list to just three. Sterling Court stood out immediately. “It was an easy decision,” Ann says.
Since moving in, Ann has embraced all that Sterling Court offers. Her favorite activity is hopping on the bus for excursions. “I love exploring new places. That’s number one.” She also enjoys the dining room and is quick to praise the food. Her third-floor apartment looks out onto lush greenery. “The courtyard is five-star” she says. “The plantings and flowers are beautiful. And when I
come up to my place, it’s serene, no hustle and bustle. My piano is there, and it feels like my own little retreat.”
Ann grew up in Canton, Ohio, and attended the University of Mount Union, where she joined the Delta Delta Delta sorority. She began teaching in Ohio, eventually covering every grade from first to High School Honors’ English throughout her 37-year career. After marrying and starting her family – her daughter lives in Atherton with grandchildren Siena, 13, and Luca, 11, while her son and daughter-in-law live on Montecito Beach, Santa Barbara – Ann moved several times, living in Connecticut, New Jersey, then Southern California. Along the way, she earned a Master’s Degree at Cal State Northridge to qualify for a California teaching credential. In Westlake Village, she taught Middle School English and Social Studies, then went on to teach High School Honors’ English before eventually relocating north to be closer to her grandchildren.
Her love for learning has always paired with creativity. Ann enjoys writing reflections in longhand when inspiration strikes. “Sometimes it’s just a paragraph, sometimes four or five pages. It’s like being your ‘own out-loud confidant’,” she says, explaining
how it helps her relive and savor memories.
Music is another lifelong thread. She learned piano as a child and still enjoys playing today. Sports also shaped her youth. “My dad loved tennis, so my brother, sister, and I all had to play, including tournaments. “But if pickleball had been around then, I would have loved it! But after two knee replacements, I’m leaving that to the youngsters.”
Walking, however, remains a favorite activity. She joins the Sterling Walkers on their outings and also keeps up a brisk 30-minute walk around the outside neighborhood.
Travel has also brought Ann joy. A friend inspired her to join small, meaningful trips abroad. “We went to Paris and Rome, and then on a Riverboat Cruise in Europe. The best part was meeting local families who invited us into their homes and shared their native dishes. It was really special.”
Today, Ann has found a balance of social connection, adventure, and peaceful moments at Sterling Court. “Sarah does a magnificent job of keeping everything organized and making life easier for all of us,” she says. When she returns from a walk or an outing, she enjoys the quiet comfort of her apartment—her own retreat filled with music, memories, and the promise of new experiences.
Since moving to Sterling Court last September, Joyce Bausch has found not only a comfortable place to live but a community that suits her spirit. “I’m part of the walker brigade now ,” she jokes, describing her lighthearted adjustment to needing a walker after experiencing four falls in just six weeks. “Thankfully, I wasn’t seriously hurt,” she says – but the experience, combined with no longer being able to drive, left her feeling vulnerable and increasingly isolated in her Concord home.
Her daughter, who lives nearby in San Francisco, was determined to help her mother find the right place and took the lead in researching senior communities. “She was afraid I’d get taken in by a salesperson,” Joyce says, laughing. With spreadsheets and phone calls galore, her daughter discovered Sterling Court. “Mom, I think Sterling Court sounds just perfect,” she said. After touring with Sarah and learning it was month-to-month with no buy-in, Joyce was sold. She now enjoys a bright, second-floor corner unit with courtyard views – shared with her beloved black cat, Velvet Rose. Her son is also not too far away in Modesto.
Joyce’s journey to Sterling Court was just the latest chapter in a life full of twists, turns, and globetrotting adventure. Raised in Massachusetts, she then moved to Connecticut, where she received her RN at Yale’s Grace-New Haven School of Nursing. It was a hospital-based program, “back when nurses actually trained in the hospital,” she explains.
After a roommate married and moved out, Joyce called her childhood best friend, who was joining the Army and heading to Germany. “It had never occurred to me to join the military,” Joyce says. But a month later, she signed up. Germany was full, so she requested Honolulu. “It was a true adventure,” she remembers of her basic training in San Antonio and the two years that followed in Hawaii.
It was in Honolulu that she met her future husband, a young Army doctor, introduced to her by a good friend at a Hail and Farewell party. “He wanted me to stay on the island, and I said, ‘Only if you give me a reason!’” Married within six months, they spent 30 years together, raising two children while moving from Georgia to Texas, Ohio, California, Germany (twice), and more. After his passing in 1999, Joyce eventually relocated from Ohio to California to be closer to her children.
Joyce spent over 30 years in nursing, including work as a home health nurse and certified diabetes educator. Over the years, she has undergone several joint replacements, but she stays active and engaged having traveled to England 20 times and even to Russia and China. “I have to keep moving,” she says, “and that’s why I go the exercise classes 3 days a week!”
Joyce also enjoys the art appreciation and history classes, started a Mexican Train group (now up to 8 members), and would love to start a knitting group and a group for a Canasta game called Hand and Foot. She also takes part in a San Mateo book club she discovered through a local newcomers’ group.
Known for her bright clothing and friendly, outgoing nature, Joyce adds, “I guess I’m an extrovert.” And while her days of traveling the world may be behind her, she reflects on it all with no regrets: “I’ve had a very adventurous life – and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.”
Jane Lintott has spent her life on the move – most recently to Sterling Court, where she continues to enjoy learning new things and meeting new people.
Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Jane’s family began moving when she was just a baby. “My father was a doctor and we moved around a lot – from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Needles, California,” says Jane. “I was born to travel.”
During the war, their travels ended in Los Angeles when Jane’s father was stationed in Hawaii. Her family stayed in L.A., and Jane later attended UCLA. Unsure how to finish her degree, Jane took a break and joined the State Department as a secretary in Tel Aviv and Hong Kong. “I wanted to travel and see the world,” she says.
She came back four years later, earned her degree, and was ready to return to the State Department. “I took the test for a foreign service officer and was accepted – and then I met my husband,” she says. David, visiting from England, met Jane at a dance. “And that’s how things happen!”
Soon after they married, David signed with the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency that upgraded airports worldwide. Jane was back on the move – living four years in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and three years in the Sultanate of Oman. “Jeddah is a port city on the Red Sea, and Oman is on the other side of Saudi Arabia,” she explains. While the region had many restrictions, they explored with other expats – visiting historic cities, viewing one of the trains attacked by Lawrence of Arabia, and hiking into the mountains. Jane also joined singing groups at the British Embassy, and in between, they even lived in Bangkok for two years.
“Then we came back home and settled happily in San Mateo,” Jane adds – as if all that globetrotting were just routine!
In the Bay Area, she worked 17 years at Stanford University’s Aero-Astro Robotics Lab. “It was a graduate department and, my gosh, those students were so smart!” One standout moment: watching the Gravity Probe B mission launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base – a NASA-Stanford project testing Einstein’s theory of relativity.
Jane and David continued traveling on cruises – exploring Europe, New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Alaska, and South America. “We always loved the scenery and wildlife.”
After 53 years of marriage, David passed away in 2020. Jane stayed in their condo until a bad fall prompted a change. “Doctors always say, ‘Don’t fall!’ but sometimes it just happens,” she says. It was a serious break, and she’s grateful she healed.
Having already explored senior communities with a friend, Jane found Sterling Court to be just the right fit. She loved the area, having already known San Mateo, and liked that she didn’t have to buy into the community. Now, eight months in, she loves her apartment and its neighborhood views, enjoys attending talks, playing bridge, and finds the residents very friendly. Jane also takes art classes with Therese Currotto – whom she once sang with in a local chorus.
If Jane has a life philosophy, it’s: Don’t fear change. “I guess it was drilled into me as a child, ‘You’ve got to keep moving!’” she says. “I’ve just always enjoyed seeing new places, the international politics, and meeting new people.”
We can help with apartment availability and scheduling tours, or send an application for residence. Let us know what you are interested in learning more about and how we can help you!
