The LeadingAge Older Adult of Distinction Award will be presented to Jess Harder, Resident of Sunshine Meadows Retirement Community in Buhler.
Jess Harder, who passed away July 17, 2016, was a shining example of a life lived for others. He believed in benefiting both his retirement community and the broader community. Still active at age 100, he counseled, did public speaking, wrote, and donated time, money and labor to projects on the Sunshine Meadows campus. He literally wrote the book on Sunshine Meadows as a way to share its history and mission.
Harder was an ardent advocate for Sunshine Meadows nearly all of his adult life. He was 29 and his wife Mae was 21 when Sunshine Meadows was founded in 1945. They saw the need for such a place in their community and worked alongside other church members to make it a reality. During Harder’s 9 years in the Kansas House of Representatives, he advocated for nursing homes. Years later, in what some might call a twist of fate but the Harders considered to be good planning, he and Mae made their home in the very community they helped imagine, fund and build, and where Mae still resides.
Seldom did people come away from a visit with Jess Harder without a sense of awe and a desire to do more in their own lives for others. Throughout his long life, he was one of Sunshine Meadows’ best ambassadors for furthering its work.
