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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
Robin Lehman will lead us in a discussion of Advance Care directives and other documents that we all should have in place. The discussion will include what you should know and what you can do now. Everyone should be aware of end-of-life options, no matter where they are on their journey. Knowledge is power. Join us for this presentation regarding having important conversations with your loved ones about your wishes and needs. It includes ensuring that your Advance Directive is up to date as well as other documents you may consider. Five Wishes is a framework for completing an Advance Care Directive. Join us for this important, although sometimes difficult, conversation. Robin Lehman is one of the co-founders of the Evergreen End of Life Care Foundation of Michigan. She is a member of the National End of Life Doula Alliance (NEDA) and is a certified End of Life Doula. Robin is passionate about supporting people as they navigate end of life challenges, as well as providing community outreach and education.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Robin Lehman
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Dates: 6/2/2026 - 6/2/2026
Times: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Tu
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
On July 4 of this year, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation's birth. At risk to their lives, a group of American colonial leaders signed a Declaration of Independence from Great Britian. The document's stirring words were principally authored by a young soft-spoken farmer from Virginia, Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson went on to play a pivotal role in shaping the new nation's democracy. He served as Vice President under both George Washington and John Adams, then as America's third President for eight years, then as Minister to France, then as Governor of Virginia, and founder of the University of Virginia. Along the way, he doubled the size of the new nation by negotiating the Louisiana Purchase from France, wrote eight books, learned multiple languages, discovered plant species unknown to botanists, and insisted that slavery be banned from the Northwest Ordinance states. John Stewart is a retired software developer with degrees in biology from the University of Michigan. He is in awe of the career of Ann Arbor high school graduate, Ken Burns.
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Fee: $40.00
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Instructor(s): John Stewart
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Dates: 6/2/2026 - 6/9/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 2
Days: Tu
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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IN-PERSON: The Elderwise classroom, 2275 Platt Road
Get ready to go clue hunting as we re-live the wild ride of the “Paul is Dead” hoax, where in 1969, Beatles fans and local Michiganders went on a quest to discover if Paul McCartney was secretly replaced by a lookalike. It all started when a student from Eastern Michigan University called Detroit’s WKNR radio about Paul McCartney's death. This sparked a flurry of theories that landed in The Michigan Daily, and had everyone scouring songs played backwards and peering at album covers for hidden messages. Rumors didn’t fade until Paul himself appeared (alive) with his wife, Linda, on the cover of Life Magazine – though some folks still wonder about a 1967 car crash and missing Beatle! Join Ray for a musical adventure packed with Beatles tunes, backwards tracks, album art sleuthing, and plenty of laughs as we unravel one of rock’s most famous legends. Ray Stocking has studied, recorded, and performed the music of The Beatles for more than 40 years. He is also a self-taught Beatles historian, and enjoys sharing his abundance of “Beatles details” with anyone who wants to listen. Ray is a graduate of Eastern Michigan University where he received his B.B.A and M.B.A. degrees in business management.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Ray Stocking
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Dates: 6/4/2026 - 6/4/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: Th
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Building: 2275 Platt Road
Room: Classroom
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OFFSITE TOUR: 797 W. Textile Road, Ann Arbor
This class has an enrollment limit of 20. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
The Past IS Worth Preserving. Join us for a story of the Sutherlands and Wilsons. This tour of the Sutherland-Wilson farm includes a presentation on the history of Pittsfield Township, as well as the six generations who lived in this home. We will explore the house, barn, and outbuildings, and learn how they have been renovated over the years by the Pittsfield Township Historical Society. If you enjoy local history, you will enjoy this tour. Carol Pollack-Rundle, a retired ophthalmic technologist at Michigan Medicine, has been interested in history for years. She is a charter member of the Pittsfield Township Historical Society and has served as its treasurer for four years. She is also a house docent and owes her knowledge of the house to other members of the historical society, especially Ed and Mary Ellen Wall, the authors of many books on Pittsfield Township history. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Carol Pollack-Rundle
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Dates: 6/5/2026 - 6/5/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: F
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Building: Offsite
Room: Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead, Ann Arbor
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OFFSITE TOUR: 6480 S. State Road, Salline
Enrollment: This tour is limited to 30 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
Accessibility: PLEASE NOTE that the Park is not yet fully accessible.
Join us for an outdoor tour of Fellowfield Discovery Park, a 10-acre ecojustice park dedicated to restoring relationships between people, place, and planet. The program begins with a welcome and introduction to the park’s purpose and philosophy, followed by hands-on activities at the Park’s discovery stations. Together, we will reflect on how past decisions have shaped the land, and how healing and stewardship are taking root. Participants will also have time to explore the trails and gardens at their own pace, including an exclusive preview of future exhibits still in development. Please note that although this development continues, the park is not yet fully accessible. Katy Adams is Fellowfield’s founder, an experienced non-profit leader, educator, and ecologist with deep family roots in the area. She is passionate about creating thoughtful spaces where people can explore and imagine, safely question the systems that shape our lives, and practice the skills needed to thrive in diverse and interdependent communities. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.
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Fee: $20.00
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Instructor(s): Katy Adams
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Dates: 6/12/2026 - 6/12/2026
Times: 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM
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Sessions: 1
Days: F
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Building: Offsite
Room: Fellowfield Discovery Park, Saline
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- ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
Thank you!
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ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before each class session begins.
Using prepared questions and our own observations, the discussion each month will explore a book from current bestseller lists. Selected books for the Spring 2026 term are:
April Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
Please read before the first class session.
Published in 1982 128 pages Fiction
A mesmerizing tale of unjust imprisonment and offbeat escape, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is one of Stephen King's most beloved and iconic stories, and it helped make Castle Rock a place readers would return to over and over again. Suspenseful, mysterious, and heart-wrenching, this iconic King novella, populated by a cast of unforgettable characters, is about a fiercely compelling convict named Andy Dufresne who is seeking his ultimate revenge.
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May A Wilder Shore: The Romantic Odyssey of Fanny and Robert Louis Stevenson by Camille Peri
Please read before the second class session.
Published in 2024 408 pages Dual Biography
This story chronicles the adventurous and literary partnership between the author and his wife, Fanny Van de Grift. The book is a richly researched and vivid portrait of their unconventional relationship, from their first meeting in France to their global travels and final years in Samoa. It highlights Fanny's crucial role as a muse, editor, and partner, and reframes her as a complex and formidable figure.
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June Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Please read before the third class session.
Published in 2023 224 pages Sci Fi/Fiction
A slender novel of epic power and the winner of the Booker Prize 2024, Orbital deftly snapshots one day in the lives of six women and men traveling through space. Selected for one of the last space station missions of its kind before the program is dismantled, these astronauts and cosmonauts—from America, Russia, Italy, Britain, and Japan—have left their lives behind to travel at a speed of over seventeen thousand miles an hour as the earth reels below. We glimpse moments of their earthly lives through brief communications with family, their photos and talismans; we watch them whip up dehydrated meals, float in gravity-free sleep, and exercise in regimented routines to prevent atrophying muscles; we witness them form bonds that will stand between them and utter solitude. Most of all, we are with them as they behold and record their silent blue planet. Their experiences of sixteen sunrises and sunsets and the bright, blinking constellations of the galaxy are at once breathtakingly awesome and surprisingly intimate.
Please read Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption before the first class.
We will send a list of discussion questions for each book to all registrants prior to each Book Club session.
Debie White has been a member of the Elderwise Learning Book Club for 10 plus years. She is an avid reader and welcomes an exchange of ideas, opinions, and interpretations.
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- ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
Thank you!
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ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before each class session begins.
Recommended text: The Collected Plays of Neil Simon; Volume I. New American Library, 1986.
Arguably the most successful and influential American playwright of the mid through late 20th century, Neil Simon gifted audiences with unforgettable characters and stories introduced on the Broadway stage. In most cases, they were also presented to wider audiences in film translations. Join Cecilia Donohue in discussion of three of Neil Simon’s earliest works: Come Blow Your Horn (1961); Barefoot in the Park (1963); and The Odd Couple (1965). Class registrants should plan to read Come Blow Your Horn and Barefoot in the Park prior to the first session. Cecilia Donohue enjoyed a 25-year career of undergraduate instruction, graduate teaching, and academic administration. A contributor to the recently published essay anthology Fiction and Poetry to Help Us Age: Criticism and Reflections by Professors of Literature, Cecilia is an Associate Editor of The Steinbeck Review and has written extensively on America’s southern writers, notably Robert Penn Warren and Anne Tyler. She now resides in East Tennessee with her husband Bill and their trio of equine, feline, and canine companions.
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- ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
Thank you!
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ONLINE: A Zoom invitation link will be sent the Friday before class begins.
The best way to see America is still hitting the open road in a car! The Road Trip is an iconically-American tradition expressing our spirit of freedom, adventure, and exploration. It’s been said that you must drive across America, not just to experience how interesting the country is, but at the same time, how boring it is. What a great family experience – (don’t make me pull over!). When and how did road trips start? How did the cross-country road trip even become possible? And Route 66, the “Mother Road” – celebrated in song, movies, books and our hearts – celebrates its 100th anniversary this year! Mary Bondarenko holds a B.S. in Psychology, a Master’s degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois, and a J.D. from Cooley Law School. Since retiring from a diverse career with a Fortune 500 company, she enjoys presenting odd cultural topics that catch her eye.
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- ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
Thank you!
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OFFSITE TOUR: Burns-Stokes Preserve, 2905 Zeeb Road, Dexter
This class has an enrollment limit of 15. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this class. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
Dragonflies are over 300 million years old, yet have changed very little since they first appeared on Earth. Come take a deep dive into nature’s perfect predators, their life cycles, their unique features, and their mythology as represented in many different cultures. This field trip will be held at the Burns-Stokes Preserve, which is situated along the river, with consistent sightings of dragonflies and damselflies. Appropriate outerwear is recommended, including tall boots. Attendees should be prepared to go off trail, where the walking can be rough and root-y in places. Elle Bogle is a passionate outdoor educator and adventurer who takes pride in connecting people with the beauty of nature. She worked as a naturalist with WCPARC for seven years, and is currently an environmental specialist with the Ann Arbor Public Schools where she has been teaching for nine years, an educator with the Ecology Center, and offers freelance naturalist services through her Wild Wander business. Her specialties include amphibians, reptiles, dragonflies, and mindfulness in nature. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.
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- ONLINE registration for this class is now closed.
If the start date of the first session has not happened yet,
please call or email the Elderwise office to get registered.
Thank you!
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OFFSITE TOUR: Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, 5200 Woodward Avenue, Detroit
Time: 8:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
Enrollment: This tour is limited to 15 attendees. A waitlist will be available.
Please let the Elderwise office know if, after registering, you are unable to attend this tour. This gives students on the waitlist an opportunity to join. It also helps the onsite class assistant have an accurate roster.
Fee: Member $10 Nonmember $20, plus an extra $26 fee to cover the round-trip bus fare, DIA entrance fee, and the DIA docent tour fee. This will be added at checkout.
Please note there will be a fair amount of walking on this trip, and the cost of lunch is not included
Join us for a docent led tour of the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). We will take the D2A2 bus from Blake Transit Center across from the Ann Arbor downtown public library, to Grand Circus Park in Detroit, then hop on the QLINE to the DIA near Wayne State University. After the tour we will have some time to roam on our own or shop in the gift store. We will meet in the DIA restaurant for a group lunch and then, depending on time available, we will head to either Campus Martius or the riverfront for a bit of sightseeing. The bus back to Ann Arbor leaves at 2:45 for an arrival back in Ann Arbor at 3:45 p.m. Joan Bulmer has been involved with Elderwise for 15 years, and is always looking for new adventures. In addition to her duties as Treasurer, she is on the Curriculum Program Team lining up speakers, and on the Tech Team assisting in the classroom. Joan teaches sewing classes, and now is leading her third Elderwise trip to Detroit. She is happy to report that no one has ever been left behind and all have had a good time! Please note there will be a fair amount of walking on this trip, and the cost of lunch is not included. Additional important information will be emailed to class registrants a few days before the tour.
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