Name: Ruth Stone Glaser.

Age: 90.

Home: Parkway Chateau in Bellingham since 2004.

Before: Ruth and Ray, her second husband, lived in a two-story home in Bellingham for 16 years. Ray tired of yard work and maintenance so they began looking at retirement home options in January 2004.

“A good move”: “I didn’t feel ready, but I thought he was,” Ruth says. When they decided on Parkway Chateau “I would look at this place and say ‘home sweet home, home sweet home’ to psych myself up. I was ready when the time came and it was a very good move.”

Sudden loss: “Ray died shortly after we moved in,” Ruth says. “He had Alzheimer’s disease.” Twenty-two days after moving he had surgery and went into a nursing home where he died on July 7, 2004. Glaser’s first husband, Bill Stone, died in 1976.

Family: Glaser has two adopted daughters — sisters Taylor and Karen — in Utah and California. No grandchildren, but “I have grandnieces and nephews so my grandchildren are all ‘pretend.’” One grandniece and one grandnephew live in Anacortes.

Career: A graduate of Mayville State College, in North Dakota, she later taught English in the personnel department of Seattle’s Boeing plant, then took a position teaching English and social studies at Seattle’s John Marshall Junior High School. When she married Bill they moved to Corvallis, Ore., where he was a mathematics professor and Ruth a stay-at-home mom.

Friends: “I’ve made many new friends here,” Ruth says. She likes to sit at different tables in the dining room, and is on the welcoming committee “so I meet everybody as they come in. It’s easy to make friends. You just have to make yourself available.”

On the go: “This is a retirement facility where people are active and do things,” says Ruth. “I belong to The Birthday Bunch; we get together for each one’s birthday, and lunch other times.” She also belongs to the American Association of University Women.

A violinist through college, she attends classical music concerts. She also loves to read and travel, visiting many exotic world ports. At home, she swims twice weekly, attends poker on Monday, Trivia Club on Tuesday, Thursday night old movies and on Saturday, horse racing and new movies with popcorn, then church on Sunday.

High energy: “One can keep busy here all the time,” Glaser says.

She describes how a group of men were discussing perpetual motion at dinner when someone asked, “What’s the definition of perpetual motion?” Another answered: “Ruth Glaser.”

Bon appetit: “We think it’s the best food in town.” Her monthly rent includes three meals a day in the dining room. Each apartment has limited cooking facilities; there’s a full kitchen on the ground floor. “I haven’t cooked thing one since I’ve been here.”

Any adjustments? “I can’t say that there were. I’m an easygoing person, so having made up my mind this was where I was going to be, that was it.”

Any surprises? “No, I knew what to expect because I’d visited my friend at The Willows many times and knew what life there was like,” Glaser says. “I thought it would be similar.”

Favorite things: “The security. I feel secure living here,” says Glaser, who likes the idea of locking her apartment door to leave. In an emergency, such as a fall, each apartment has a pull-cord that alerts the on-site management, who will call 911.

Perks: “I like the socialization and I love my apartment. Being Scandinavian, I love lots of light, and there are five windows in my place.”

Making aging easier: “You don’t have yard work. You don’t have to keep up the house. One of the things I like best is getting up from the table and leaving the dishes.”

Maintenance plan: “I watch my health and diet carefully and take lots of vitamins.”

Glaser hopes she won’t need much end-of-life care. Her father lived to nearly 100 and her mother lived to more than 101, “so the genes are there. They were in a nursing home when they died. I’m hoping to avoid that. That’s one fear I think we all have, of being dependent and a burden to somebody else.”

Errands with ease: A van is available several times a week to take residents to doctor appointments and shopping. “When I can no longer drive, I’ll use that.”

Future needs: “Perhaps some caregiver assistance, and I hope it could be right here,” Ruth says. “Some residents hire their own caregivers who help them bathe and dress in the morning, and put them to bed at night.

“After that, there’s assisted living at Summit Place right behind us and behind that is Mount Baker Nursing Home. Hopefully, I’ll never reach that stage.”

Down the road: “I’ve decided when I can no longer drive and travel, I’ll get a cat.”