These Featured Boomers chose Middletown Delaware for their Retirement Destination – Meet Dee and Marian
I have been saying for years that Delaware seems to be attracting the best and brightest retirees from the Mid-Atlantic and the Northeast. It’s no wonder when you consider the high concentration of excellent schools and universities as well as hospitals and research institutions in this part of the country. Our two Featured Boomers this month certainly prove my theory!
Della (Dee) Campbell, Ph.D., APN, NE-BC, CNL
Dee grew up in Ridgefield, NJ, in the home she finally sold to move to Delaware with Marian Lake in 2016. She received her RN Diploma from the Clara Maass Memorial Hospital School of Nursing and her BSN from Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After receiving her Masters at Wagner College in Staten Island, NY, she became an Advanced Practice Nurse in Women’s Health. Between 1991 and 1999 she moved into Management of Women’s Services at St. Peters University Hospital.
It was here she met Marian Lake and Dr. Robert (Bob) Knuppel, a leading Maternal-Fetal Medical Physician. Dr. Knuppel is board certified in both Obstetrics and Gynecology and in Maternal-Fetal Medicine. During his long and successful career, he has become renowned as an expert in the treatment of many conditions, including high-risk pregnancy, and gestational diabetes.
As a result of this meeting, Dee became the Chief Nursing Officer for an Infertility and Prenatal Case Management Company started by Bob. After 9/11, Dee entered a Doctoral Program and returned to academia first at Seton Hall University, then University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ as Chief Operating Officer and Professor at the School of Nursing, and Felician University and is now at the University of Delaware and continues teaching.
Marian Lake, RNC, MPH, CCRC Maternal-Fetal Medicine Nurse Manager
Marian is from Appleton, Wisconsin and received her degree in nursing from the University of Cincinnati. She started as a Labor and Delivery nurse and began to focus on high-risk pregnancies. Marian gravitated to research in her time at St. Margaret’s Hospital in Boston, the hospital where all the Tufts students and doctors got their OB experience. That is where Marian met Dr. Robert (Bob) Knuppel. She then moved to Tampa and joined the faculty of the University of South Florida, Dept. of OB-GYN, and worked with Bob for several more years. She then moved back to NJ with St. Peters University Hospital and retired in 2015. Marian’s 45-year career in nursing was focused on pregnancy research and teaching doctors and nurses about high-risk pregnancy.
So here is the small world story of how I came to know Dee and Marian, and this is what I love about being a REALTOR at this point in time in Delaware. Dr. Robert Knuppel was just Bob when I knew him as my classmate at DePaul High School in Wayne, NJ. He is definitely one of the best and brightest that I have ever known and I am glad we remained in contact. When Dee and Marian told Bob that they were ready to find their retirement home in Delaware, Bob said,“You have to call Kathy!” Thank you, Bob.
How did they choose Delaware? Compared to NJ, the tax status was certainly a factor, but they felt it was also less congested. The seasonal weather with four seasons was another reason and the location in the heart of the Mid-Atlantic.
As we searched for their new home, Dee and Marian selected an active adult community in Middletown, Delaware, called Silver Maple Farms. Marian fell in love with the look of the community from the moment they drove down the tree-lined entrance with the view of the original barn. For Dee, it is a convenient location to the University of Delaware. They both enjoy the proximity to cultural activities and easy access to the Rt. 95 Corridor to visit friends in NY and NJ.
They love their local life in Delaware and maintain a very active schedule. In addition to teaching at the University of Delaware, Dee is serving her second year on the Silver Maple Farms HOA Executive Board. Marian volunteers at a local non-profit dining room. They have been exploring the historic towns from New Castle to Odessa and Lewes, as well as the beach towns of Southern Delaware.
They both enjoy walking their Cavalier King Charles Spaniels Quincy and Tully and leisure biking in their community. Marian maintains a garden plot in the community Victory Garden and is known for her king-size sunflowers. She also loves baking and crosstitch.
On their bucket list is plans for travel to Europe, especially Ireland and Italy.
We would love to also help you find your dream home in Delaware to retire to. You can get your Delaware home search started right here on our website, or contact one of our Active Adults Realty Agents today.
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