Meet New Friends

At England Oaks new residents don’t remain strangers for very long. We are a friendly community of people who extend the gift of friendship easily and freely. Neighbors become friends and friends become family. Phillip and Rose Walker first came to England Oaks for refuge in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Still at England Oaks for Christmas, Rose decorated her temporary housing and invited the staff to celebrate the holidays. As luck would have it, Rose and Phil ended up staying at England Oaks and are now happy to call our community home. Known affectionately to everyone as Ma and Pa Walker, this couple is thriving again in the warmth of our community.

For some of our residents, a friendship can span decades, and even continents. Jim and Dona Bouchillon first met David and Lois Barnes in 1976 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Bouchillons were both working at the U.S. Embassy and the Barnes’ owned a private business in Indonesia. They saw each other often at special functions hosted by the American Ambassador and soon became great friends. Twenty years later, on a tour of the South in their RV, the Bouchillons fell in love with England Oaks and put down roots. When the Barnes’ found out about their new home, they visited and fell in love with our community. Today, these two couples live right next door to each other and couldn’t be happier.