Photograph by Robert Scheer
Sylvio Rosingana and Elizabeth "Dolly" Batson, 105, visit at the Sunnyvale Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.
By LESTER CHANG
After working nearly 14 hours as a clerk at Cherry Chase Liquor Store, Sylvio J. Rosingana could drive home at the end of the day to watch television, eat dinner or walk his dog.
Instead, for the past seven months, he has opted to visit a place close to his heart--the Sunnyvale Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, where he helps lift the spirits of some of Sunnyvale's oldest citizens.
Rosingana brings cookies, humor and a quick smile to the 90 or so residents at the S. Bernardo Avenue facility. He is one of 25 volunteers.
"They are like family to me. I try to see as many as possible," said Rosingana, 77. "Sometimes it is difficult because they are asleep or aren't available. But I definitely want to be there. I feel sorry for people who are just sitting there and are waiting around."
Rosingana, who owned the Sunnyvale liquor store for 35 years until he sold it in 1995, visits the home five days a week for around 40 minutes a day. On Sundays he gets off work early, so stays a full two hours.
The clients have come to rely on volunteers as part of their daily routine, said Michelle Gulmon, an assistant activities director at the nursing home. "That makes people happy."
Elizabeth "Dolly" Batson, who at 105 is the home's oldest client, Elmo McNabb, 89, and Ray Makela, 84, have become some of Rosingana's best friends. He talks with them about news, sports, movies and their lives.
Batson was born on Jan. 28, 1892. She fondly reminisces about spending her childhood days in San Francisco, where her family had a second home.
She barely strays from the topic on visits, said her son, Layton Batson Jr., 72, a Sunnyvale resident. He has seen her almost daily since she moved to the nursing home in 1990.
In 1917, she became the first woman to graduate from the School of Pharmacy at UC-Berkeley. She worked as a pharmacist for the next 59 years, employed at Stanford Hospital, now Stanford Medical Center, and Mills Hospital in San Mateo.
Batson's son, a retired general manager with Southern Pacific, moved his mother from San Mateo to Sunnyvale about 20 years ago.
Time has taken away the sharp edge of his mother's memory. She speaks coherently with people, but will forget them as soon as they leave, he said.
That hasn't bothered Rosingana.
"I think she feels good talking to me," he said. "And as long as she is alive, I am going to make her feel good."
Rosingana said he has liked talking with McNabb even though he has Alzheimer's disease and tends to ramble. "But I ramble with him," he said with a chuckle.
Makela has talked about the "same old story, over and over again," Rosingana said. "I can't say what he talks about, but it makes him feel comfortable. That is OK by me."
Rosingana said he decided to volunteer after seeing the good service his mother received at the nursing home, where she lived for 15 years. She died in 1982 at the age of 83.
"Life is precious, " he said. "They have only so much time left. I want to help them make the most of it."
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, February 26, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.