Change of pace: Cordell adjusting to new home

By AMY SATTERWHITE / Staff Reporter for the Southern Standard

Daughters Sara Cordell, left, and Lucia Cordell Getsi admire their father, Sam Cordell, who recently moved to an assisted living facility but who also comes and goes as he pleases. (Amy Satterwhite photo)

Sam Cordell seems like he could keep going at his normal pace forever and by many respects, he still does.

But the reality is the long-time jeweler, who directed the Silver and Gold Band during the most recent Fourth of July events downtown, is 86 and he’s getting some help.

Cordell’s daughter, Lucia Cordell Getsi, says news of her father’s placement at McMinnville Residential Care Center, an assisted living center, has been the talk of the town. Family members would like Cordell’s friends and others around him to know their family’s decision is OK and Cordell is doing fine.

“We thought it would be a good idea for the people who know him to know where he is and since he’s downtown, they can visit,” Cordell’s other daughter, Sara Cordell, said.

Cordell, who suffers from memory loss and has better days than others, still plays golf, directs the band and works five days a week at Grizzell’s Jewelry where he has worked since 1947. He purchased the store from Bob Grizzell after Grizzell retired.

The biggest thing that has changed is he now resides in an assisted living facility along with a community of others who need a little extra help.

“I’ve got everything here I had at home, but it takes some getting used to,” said Cordell, who admitted he does miss his four-bedroom house in the Newtown community. “I’m making it all right. I’ve got a nice room here.”

Cordell said he comes and goes as he pleases and that his health resulted in the move, as advised by his doctor.

But among the things that haven’t changed, Cordell expects to get his noon lunch at the downtown drug store, where a soft drink is already on the table before he ever sits down.

“I’m sure a lot of people think it’s just a nursing home, and it’s not,” Sara said, noting her father wanted to remain in McMinnville where his friends and neighbors are during his golden years.

“It’s just a gathering of people who need physical support,” Lucia added.

Coincidentally, the assisted living center happens to be on the same street where all Cordell’s children grew up and that’s another comfort, they said. Their decision for Cordell to move there has brought the family closer together.

“It’s good to get together,” said Lucia, who lives out of state along with other siblings. “We were ‘together’ before, but it’s brought everybody physically together, so that’s a nice aspect of it.”

Friends and family may visit Cordell at Grizzell’s during working hours or at the assisted living center.