Living Memories

The Flower Shop
John & Violet Kimel

Do you remember Pardue Flower Shop? Maybe not, but certainly you recognize the name Kimel's Flower Shop. For 30 years, John and Violet Kimel left their footprints on the floor of that Winston-Salem shop serving the wants and needs of customers. The funny thing is Kimel's Flower Shop occurred by accident.

"We didn't want to do it," John smiles. Their next-door neighbor owned Pardue and Violet worked with her at the shop, occasionally helping during busy periods. "I didn't know too much about anything," Violet relays, "but I took the orders and waited on the customers during the holidays. Well, our neighbor decided she was going to move to Florida and wanted me to take over the flower shop. We didn't really want it, but she dumped it and we went ahead and took it." They bought Pardue and the first thing Violet did was change the name.

"Violet changed it. She was going to build on our name," states John and build is just what they did. From 1962 until their selling of the shop in 1992, they built corsages, bouquets, and arrangements. They built memories for other couples, souvenirs for special events, and built a life for themselves and their family. When asked about her favorite joy in running the shop, Violet answers, "I liked the feeling of accomplishment." John says the ability to build things with your hands was very fulfilling as well, but with a chuckle he admits that he didn't get to make arrangements. "I was a gofer. I did what she said to do," which turned out to be handling personnel matters, deliveries, some bookwork, and cleaning up the place. The Kimels, who celebrated 60 years together on Valentine's Day, spent half of their marriage bumping into each other amongst flower stems and bows. So when the 1990s rolled around, they were ready for a break.

"We sold the shop and started goofing off," John readily admits. They started exploring the globe, roaming through Europe, Canada and Alaska, taking spins out West, driving to the beaches on the Atlantic Coast, and taking their daily walks around Winston-Salem. "We cruised all over and then we moved over here to Homestead Hills and now it's like we are on vacation all the time," Violet says.

The Kimels decided at the age of 70 that they wanted to move to a retirement community. John says, "We'd gotten tired of the responsibility of keeping up a house and a good-sized lawn and we started looking at places." Having lived their entire lives within a fifteen minute radius in the Winston-Salem area, Homestead Hills was an easy choice for them. Violet said the fact that it is so close to everything, "There's no closer place to the Hanes Mall than here...and doctors.and hospitals," made it an extremely quick decision. "We visited a lot of places and they were nice, but we knew at other places when you died, they got it all, you got no money back. That was the main reason we started talking about Homestead Hills."

"There wasn't even a model back then, but every Sunday after church we'd come visit," John replies. "We just liked watching them build. There wasn't even a street over here. But it was exciting to watch it start up." Soon the Kimels bought their lot, built their house and they have never doubted their decision about leaving the "work" to someone else and moving to Homestead Hills.

"We are in our 10th year here and have enjoyed every minute of it. The things that matter.they take care of immediately," says Violet. "It's home and I am free to do what I want to do. It's stress free! Anything that's important has always been taken care of." John adds, "I think our staff is excellent. We've enjoyed it. We've really enjoyed it."

"Overall, Homestead Hills is such a nice community. We have everything we want right here," Violet proudly responds. "We don't need to go anywhere. Everybody gets along and we have people from all different walks of life, from all over the country and all over the world," replies John. "We help each other out, just like a family."

With another smile Violet adds, "I always tell people to come to Homestead Hills while you are young. Don't wait till you can't get out of the house. Come and enjoy it now."

The Kimels are just one of the amazing couples who enjoy living at Homestead Hills. You can be a part of this rich tradition and community, too. Call and schedule a lunch and tour today.