Homeland resident Gladys Mumper enjoys days full of activities

The secret to living 100 years is lots of rest, says Gladys Mumper. The Homeland resident doesn’t like getting up early in the morning, but with Homeland’s array of activities, she packs a lot of living into the hours left in every day.

“Homeland is a very wonderful place to live,” Gladys says. “They treat you well. They find things for you to do all the time. My son says I should take advantage of it. He says, ‘Do whatever they offer,’ and I do.”

Gladys, a long-time New Cumberland resident, enjoys her active life at Homeland. Her bright, comfortable personal care suite is decorated with family photos, furniture from her home, and favorite pictures.

Her father was a building contractor who built their home. The family didn’t travel much, except for the occasional visit to an uncle in New Hampshire.

The youngest of six children, Gladys attended Central Penn Business College and then landed a job with the state.

“Civil service was insurance that you had your job,” she says. “You didn’t lose your job due to politics.”

She got married in 1951 to James Mumper. She had known him in high school, but they weren’t dating then.

“My uncle was a minister in Shippensburg, and he married us,” she says.

Gladys and James, a real estate broker, had a daughter and a son. The family stayed in New Cumberland, where both children did well in school. Her daughter attended Duke University and became a pediatrician. Her son attended Georgia Tech and followed in his grandfather’s footsteps, founding the well-known firm of J.W. Mumper Construction.

As her children grew up, Gladys was a den mother for her son’s Boy Scout troop. Their activities included hiking the Pennsylvania and Maine segments of the Appalachian Trail.

Glady’s husband died in 2001. She came to Homeland in 2019 and immediately made it her home. Nearly everything on the activities calendar constitutes her daily schedule.

She enjoys trivia, “This Day in History” gatherings, restaurants, and excursions to local attractions. For the holidays, she joined a trip to see the extravagant Hershey Sweet Lights display and an exhibit of nativity scenes at a local church.

Activities Coordinator Diomaris Pumarol says that Gladys isn’t interested in cooking anymore but enjoys socializing with other residents who attend the Baking and Chatting group.

“You can’t believe the activities they have here,” adds Gladys. “They are marvelous. They go way out of their way to keep us busy and entertained.”

Gladys’ son, Jim Mumper, says the consistency and dedication of staff make Homeland special.

“The staff is just wonderful,” he says. “They’re very, very nice. Homeland does a great job selecting people and training them and keeping them happy.”

Gladys celebrated her 100th birthday in October 2021, but there’s a catch.

“I cannot really vouch for that because I do not have a birth certificate,” she admits. “There were three of us in our town that the doctor did not register. I just have to vouch that they’re correct, and I’m here.”

As for Homeland, she calls it her “safe haven.”

“Just wonderful. You can’t go wrong. They treat you special. We all say we couldn’t have made a better choice. It doesn’t matter what you have or don’t have, everyone is treated the same.”