Forty years later, Sunny View has remained true to its mission, even as it's evolved from a Lutheran home into a retirement community with expanded services and a diversifying population. The late Rev. Oliver Ruud, who served as Sunny View's first executive director from 1963 to 1983, wrote that the facility was designed as part of a holistic approach to ministry.

In A Story of Grace and Growth, a history published in 1989 to celebrate Sunny View's 25th anniversary, Ruud wrote, "Sunny View Lutheran Home developed out of a deep concern by the church for its elders and for other seniors in the community.

"Care of the aging came out of the dark ages of warehousing and abandonment when the church awakened to the fact that the whole person is composed of a union of mind, body and spirit," Ruud wrote. "Thus, the church continued to develop caring communities identified as nursing homes, retirement centers, hospitals, clinics and other health and sickness facilities that emphasized the spiritual ministry as an important component of the healing process and wellness."

"I think the spiritual part was and still is very important," said Ruud's daughter Janet. "My dad believed that the spiritual care of the residents was just as important, or more important, than their physical care."

At a recent party in June to celebrate Sunny View's 40th anniversary, former administrator Jan Straka told those assembled that other retirement communities "are missing that spiritual component and Christian camaraderie."

"When I move in some years down the road, I'm going to expect excellence," Straka said to those at the party. "It was a privilege to work at a [facility] where hugs are not only permitted but encouraged."

Continuum of care

While staff members agree that a healthy outlook can contribute to a healthy body, Sunny View provides a continuum of care for its residents with physical ailments. Of the 190 residents of Sunny View Manor, the original building, more than 60 percent live either in independent- or assisted-living units, and the rest are in a skilled-nursing facility. The independent-living program includes support services such as dining, housekeeping, maintenance and wellness programs. Those in assisted living can also receive help managing medications, bathing, doing laundry and setting up doctor's appointments. The skilled-nursing facility provides round-the-clock care for patients with more severe health problems.

"I think that the retirement community of today offers care for all phases of aging, rather than the old model of service [that was geared] mainly to those who were physically or mentally ailing," Ruud said. "I also think there will be a greater need for more and more of these communities in the future, as we baby boomers age and live longer and healthier lives."

The high cost of aging

The cost of moving to a retirement community can be prohibitive for seniors on fixed incomes. At Sunny View, entrance fees for independent-living units range from $50,000 for a studio apartment, with monthly fees of $2,019; to $245,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath residence, with monthly fees of $4,773. Entrance fees in assisted living run from $30,000 for a studio, with monthly fees of $3,525; to $50,000 for a one-bedroom apartment, with monthly fees of $4,982.

To serve low-income seniors, Sunny View opened a federally subsidized apartment complex in 1979. At Sunny View West, which sits adjacent to Sunny View Manor on 12 acres at Cupertino Road and Foothill Boulevard, rent is 30 percent of a resident's gross adjusted income, which can't exceed $59,400 annually for individuals and $67,900 for couples. Sunny View West opens its waiting list each October, and 80­100 seniors usually apply for residence in one of the complex's 100 studio and one-bedroom apartments, said administrator Rachel Porras.

Changing demographics

In her 11 years at Sunny View West, Porras has seen the population of the apartment complex change to reflect the city around it. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, almost 24 percent of Cupertino's population is Chinese. This percentage is even higher at Sunny View West, where Chinese residents are in the majority.

The development of a strong Chinese community at Sunny View West can be attributed in part to the strong Chinese community in Cupertino at large, Porras said. "Many [seniors] who choose us are friends and family of those who are already here."

Sunny View West residents participate in activities at the manor, most of which are conducted in English. Chinese residents often translate for each other, Porras said, and Sunny View West's service coordinator speaks Chinese. Residents also hold mah-jongg games in their apartments.

"I wouldn't say anyone has ever moved out because they couldn't communicate with anyone," she added.

The majority of Sunny View West residents are from the South Bay, Porras said, and their families take a healthy interest in their seniors' lives.

"It's really important that they participate," she added. "We get to know them better and can be at ease with calling them if there's a problem."

As for the residents, Porras said, "It really surprises me how independent they want to be after being in a close family situation. Yet they still interact a lot with their families. Maybe once their grandkids grow up, they want to be with people their own age."

Learning from others' experience

As a teenager working at Sunny View, Janet Ruud learned a lot from being around people of her grandparents' generation. She said one of the most important lessons was that "when you get to a certain age, you deserve to have your food served to you the way you like it."

Ruud said she learned this from a resident named Miss Eby. "I thought she was a very educated woman and had much respect for her," Ruud recalled. "She knew what she liked, and she wasn't timid about letting you know. For breakfast, she'd order burned toast and burned bacon!"

Other residents, such as Miss Marsh, passed along more practical wisdom. "Her major topic of conversation was Fresno, where she used to live," Ruud recalled in an email message. " 'Hot in Fresno today! Sure glad I'm not there! Wouldn't want to be in Fresno!' I guess this must have made an impression on me, because to this day, I have never gone to Fresno."

The staff of Sunny View's special-care unit learns patience, among other things, from the 12 residents there, all of whom have Alzheimer's disease.

Some need a little more

"You take a deep breath every day," said activities director Susan Raye. "You can't let things bother you, especially in here. I recently had a resident hit me on the head with a maraca for no apparent reason."

Raye said she has to be attuned to residents' behavior, since dementia can cause mood swings.

"Their demeanor can change in a moment if you move their chair too quickly or someone looks at them wrong," she added. "The flip side is you'll have a resident who's perpetually cheerful."

And some are just sassy. "Helen raised her kids in Cupertino," Raye said of one resident. "She was really active in the community. When we do arts and crafts, she'll pick on me and say, 'This is just like first-grade art.' I tell her, 'No, Helen, it's second-grade art.'"

Raye tries to keep residents nimble in mind and body with a full roster of activities, including a home-cooked breakfast every Friday morning.

"The whole focus is sensory: the smell of bacon frying, the sound of eggs being scrambled," she said.

For other sensory experiences, staff members take the residents for a scenic drive twice a month, after which they picnic in Menlo Park. Recent day trips include a jaunt to Golden Gate Park.

"Warding off loneliness and boredom is the mission of the activities program," Raye said. "If it brings a smile to their faces, mission accomplished."

Residents' medical care is overseen by two certified nursing assistants, who make doctor's appointments for them and administer their medication.

"Some residents we assist with getting dressed," said head CNA Rosalie Sauella. "Others can do it on their own."

Sauella said she's established something of a ritual with one resident who she helps get ready for each day. "She always asks me what time I got up and tells me how she had to get up every morning to walk to school," Sauella said. "I've gotten to the point where I say it with her."

The personal touch

This kind of personal interaction has been central to Sunny View's success.

As the first director of nursing at Cupertino's Sunny View Lutheran Home in the 1960s, Ebba Henricson tended to the needs of the retirement community's frailest elderly residents. And now as a resident of Sunny View since the late 1980s, 87-year-old Henricson tends the garden in the community courtyard.

Some current employees are thinking about spending their retirement years living at what is now their workplace. Sally Fuentes, who's worked in housekeeping for 24 years, said if it's ever necessary for her to move out of her Sunnyvale home, she'll settle into Sunny View West.

Fuentes said the sense of community Sunny View fosters among its residents extends to its employees.

"You meet new people, see them come and go," she added. "They told us not to get really attached to anyone just for your own peace of mind. But you do. You can't help it."