The photo is of two young boys, probably no more than three or four years old. They are in their swimming suits, crouched together on a small section of lawn, their hair matted down as if still wet. Their beaming smiles bring life to the grainy black and white photo

Across the room, Ruby Bailey is sitting in her recliner, her head cocked toward the picture and her eyes wet. She doesn’t have the strength today to walk over and pick up the picture. It’s what’s taped to the back of the frame that she wants to see . . . the obituaries of the two boys in the picture—her sons.

They passed away within just a few months of each other in early 2003. Roger was 67 and Gerald, 68.

Ruby’s grief is understandably still quite raw. At age 93, she has outlived her boys and her husband, Lloyd. Although her heart is still broken, Ruby finds enormous comfort in her warm memories of family, her many loyal friends and her home on Charles Avenue in Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood.

It’s a small, unremarkable house from the outside, but inside it’s filled with every photo, every memento, every memory that Ruby cherishes. She credits the wide variety of services she receives from Wilder’s Community Services for the Elderly with enabling her to remain in her home for as long as she has.

“I don’t think I could have stayed here without Wilder’s help. I can’t go out in the yard. I can’t take the garbage out. There’s so much I can’t do, but the Wilder folks help me out,” Ruby said.

For more than 10 years, Ruby has received services from Wilder. She receives hot, lunchtime meals from the Meals on Wheels program. Her lawn is mowed, sidewalks shoveled and gutters cleaned thanks to Wilder’s Chore program. The aides from the Homemaker program help her with her laundry, cooking and bathing. A nurse from the Home Health Agency visits every couple of weeks to check her pacemaker, blood pressure and other medical needs.

“Whenever I breathe the words, ‘I need you,’ they come right away. The guys even planted tomatoes for me,” she said. “The gals who come visit are like my sisters, that’s how I look at it now.”

Ruby also attends Wilder’s Adult Day Health program, where she socializes with the many friends she has made—both staff and clients.

“They tell me, ‘I don’t know anyone who has more friends than you, Ruby,’” she said. “I really feel like I’m loved over there.”