Cooperative Living June 2014 - 38

GOOD NEIGHBORS by Bill Sherrod, Editor
Good Neighbors Add to Property Value
T
o Billie Jo Kaufman, Peggy
and Jerry Keating are the
ideal neighbors.
" We are there for each other, but
not bothersome, " the Heritage Hunt
resident says about her neighbors.
" If we need something, they help
out. It can be as simple as getting
our mail if we're traveling, or going
out together for pizza and conversation, "
notes Billie Jo.
Billie Jo and her husband, Bob,
moved to their community, which
is located near Gainesville in
Northern Virginia, in 2006, about
a month after the Keatings moved
into Heritage Hunt.
" I guess we first met just by seeing
each other at the mailbox and
around the neighborhood, " says
Billie Jo, who manages the library
and information systems for
Washington College of Law at
American University.
Bob is a semi-retired travel
agent, and Peggy and Jerry are both
retired from government work. The
Kaufmans are both Indiana natives
who met while attending college at
Indiana University. Peggy Keating is
originally from Boston, Mass., and
Jerry is originally from Scranton,
Pa. They met in Germany while
working for the federal government.
Bob recalls formally meeting the
Keatings at Jerry Keating's 70th
birthday party in 2007. " After that,
we became close friends, " he notes.
The friendship took on a
different dimension and intensity
in 2008. Billie Jo says, " I went to
work one day and ended up at
Washington Hospital Center in
Washington, D.C., where I had a
quadruple heart bypass. "
When she came home after her
surgery, the Keatings were there for
the Kaufmans, keeping watch over
and providing company for Billie Jo
as Bob went about maintaining the
home and running chores such as
36
grocery shopping and making trips to
the pharmacy for his wife's medication.
" I really appreciated Peggy and Jerry
being here while I had to go out, " says
Bob. " You don't want to leave someone
alone after that kind of surgery. It was
nice knowing that if something had
happened, someone was here to call
911 for Billie Jo. "
" That's the way the neighborhood
is, and we're especially blessed to have
Peggy and Jerry as neighbors, " says
Billie Jo. " We know they're there for
us, and we're here for them. "
Sometimes, the Kaufmans have been
there for the Keatings in dire emergency
situations, such as when Peggy tripped
on a box in her garage and fell, resulting
in a severe gash to her leg that
required 26 stitches.
Other times, the two couples'
neighborliness manifests in less
dire circumstances, such as the
time the Kaufmans' Mickey
Mouse bathroom (so-named for a
large Mickey Mouse clock
perched prominently on the wall
above the sink) was somehow
locked from the inside with
nobody in it.
" The little key that's supposed
to open the door wouldn't
work, " notes Billie Jo. " So Bob
and Jerry and another one of our
good neighbors, Cy Sherer,
worked on the problem until
they finally got the door open. "
" After that episode the
Peggy and Jerry Keating (left) and Billie Jo and Bob
Kaufman are good neighbors and friends.
" Peggy and Jerry are so thoughtful, "
Billie Jo adds. " They sat with me
when my husband needed to run
errands after my open-heart surgery,
and they cheered my husband during
his hip replacement rehab. Plus, they
offer wine on their patio, and great
crepes, pot roast and fondue! "
The Kaufmans and Keatings
enjoy doing a wide variety of things
together now, from Caribbean cruises
to Heritage Hunt community events
to weekend adventures afield touring
Virginia's wine country. And when
needed, the couples support each
other.
joke around the neighborhood
was, how many people over
age 65 does it take to get a
bathroom door open, " Bob
laughs.
" Seriously, though, that's what
makes a good neighbor, " Billie Jo
interjects. " We know if we need something,
we can just pick up the phone
and Peggy and Jerry are there for us.
They're people we're comfortable with,
people we trust. "
In her emailed nomination of Peggy
and Jerry for the Cooperative Living
Good Neighbors feature, Billie Jo
wrote, " When people ask me about my
commute (into Washington, D.C., to
work), I say, we cannot move - we
would never find neighbors like Jerry
and Peggy. The value of our lovely
Heritage Hunt home is increased by
their presence! " 
Cooperative Living/June 2014
BILL SHEROD PHOTO
Cooperative Living June 2014

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