The Life of the Mind

By Don Gralen, Woods of King-Bruwaert resident

​Long a civic leader and a proponent of community involvement, Don Gralen transitioned to our King-Bruwaert retirement community with a vision for quality care and services, socialization and happiness among new neighbors. Within a short time, Don found himself volunteering to lead several resident programs that have drawn equal interest among his newly acquired friends. Don endorses his ongoing commitment to activities by sharing meaningful purpose for himself and others:

“My wife, Jane, and I moved to K-B seven years ago. We brought with us the strong conviction that the paramount value in life is The Life of the Mind. To foster this at  K-B, I started a Non-Fiction Book Club that meets every six weeks for a discussion of a book of my choosing. Recently, our group shared a lively discussion on “Hillbilly Elegy,” by J. D. Vance. I also spearhead a Current Events discussion group that meets monthly to share conversations on three or four topics. Recent gatherings have included talks on “black holes,” and “space probes,” for which research material was made available to participants in advance. I see these activities as life enriching contributions to life at K-B.”

As Don shares his interests with fellow K-B residents, he brings enlightenment to those who welcome opportunities to connect and converse with others. He helps to perpetuate The Life of the Mind – while engaging in expressive and intelligent discussions.