Caring
We offer adults and their care partners a continuum of exceptional long-term care services, including residential nursing care and specialized memory care, assisted living and adult day health services.

Compassion
Our team consists of people who are caring, compassionate, and dedicated to lifting the human spirit of others.

Tradition
More than a century of caring, warmth, and joy, with a continuous focus on providing the highest quality of care.

Nurturing
Residents at Parker thrive in an environment guided by the Eden Alternative™, which embraces and nurtures aging as a natural stage in life.

Commitment
Onsite health and wellness programs, medical and rehabilitation services, and enriching amenities exemplify our ongoing commitment to enhancing the lives of our residents.

Art and History come together at Francis E. Parker Memorial Home

Over 100 residents, employees, dignitaries and guests assembled at The Francis E. Parker Memorial Home in Highland Park on Thursday, May 13th for the Grand Opening of Parker Cottage and the Seward Johnson Sculpture Exhibition. The charming, historic “cottage,” once a part of the Merriewold Estate, has been restored and given new purpose through the joint efforts of the PARKER, a not-for-profit long term care community, and Seward Johnson, a Johnson & Johnson heir. Over the past five years, PARKER has undertaken extensive restoration of the cottage and grounds into a charming venue for resident activities, special events, and a destination for interested visitors. The world renowned sculptor, Seward Johnson contributed landscape design expertise and loaned five of his sculptures for exhibition on the grounds.  
The Cottage is one of the last remaining structures from the former Merriewold Estate. It was built to house workers at Merriewold Castle, the lavish home which was a 1920’s wedding gift from J. Seward Johnson to his bride, Ruth Dill Johnson.  After the couple’s marriage ended in divorce, Ruth Dill was married to Philip Crockett in 1940. Deciding the Castle was too large; they moved their family to the Cottage. In 1980 Parker purchased 13.5 acres from the Crocketts for development of the Parker at River Road nursing care residence in 1983 and Parker at Stonegate assisted living residence in 2006.
In the 1940’s, the Cottage was the boyhood home of Seward Johnson. Now a world renowned sculptor, Mr. Johnson is especially known for his public sculpture installations. At Thursday’s opening, Parker CEO, Roberto Muñiz, related how, “In 2008, I had the pleasure of giving Seward Johnson a tour of PARKER where he saw the cottage for the first time in many years.  I shared Parker’s Eden Alternative® philosophy and my vision of how a restored cottage could promote meaningful life and growth of our elders.”  
“Seward quickly saw the opportunity to collaborate on making this vision a reality,” continued Mr. Muñiz. “With the support of the board, we formed a team to design and implement the next phase of cottage and grounds restoration. And, Seward generously contributed landscape design expertise and sculptures to enhance the grounds.”
In his comments on Thursday, Mr. Johnson shared his feelings about his connection to the Cottage and the placement of his sculptures here, “I have so many memories here,” he said, “I feel very much at home here and my sculptures feel at home also.”
Bill Tibbitt, Chairman of PARKER’s Board of Trustees related PARKER’s renewed mission, “to provide transformative and charitable long-term care services in home-like settings while advancing learning opportunities for nurses, other healthcare professionals and caregivers.”
“As we’ve heard over and over today,” he continued, “the Cottage and sculptures, as well as, the charm and natural beauty of the setting, enhance the experience of residents, families, employees, and guests – and will help fulfill our mission for the next decades.”
The cottage restoration and sculpture exhibition are expressions of PARKER’s commitment to the Eden philosophy, to create environments that are harmonious with nature, and that mirror nature in diversity and spontaneity, for people of all ages.  PARKER Cottage is now open by appointment only for tours of the building, garden and the Seward Johnson sculptures.  Please call 732-565-2400 to schedule your visit today.

 

AWARDS