Monday, September 7^th a parade passed through Woodland Terrace (a Kisco Senior Living community) in celebration of a resident’s 100^th birthday! Clyde McDowell sat in a king’s chair by the front door of the community. BIG letters saying “Happy Birthday Clyde” were outside for him to see as soon as he went out the doors. 

The parade pulled outside of the community's portico, and each car had the opportunity to share a word with the resident through Eversound, an innovative technology that fed right into a headset for Clyde, allowing him to hear every part of his friends’ and family’s happy messages without noise disruption from the car motors or passersby, and all attendees remained socially distant and safe. Clyde’s fellow Kiwanis members were in the parade alongside many others from the wider Raleigh community who know Clyde from his decades of volunteer activity.

“Woodland Terrace is happy to help facilitate this safe celebration of life for one of our residents. Clyde is such a giving person and a joy to be around, and our associates joined in the parade line to share happy messages with him,” says Matt Towler, executive director at Woodland Terrace. “We hope that we gave to him a birthday surprise that shows how much we enjoy having him in our community, even during these challenging times.”

More about Clyde in the local community:

• Clyde is a veteran; he joined the Navy in 1942 after Pearl Harbor, serving in Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA.
• He is a life member of the Iron Dukes, and is active in the Coast Guard Auxiliary of Durham and local Kiwanis achieving high ranking in both.
• He has continued to remain active and even added computer learning and then assisting with teaching as a volunteer with Raleigh Parks.
• Through life he has loved family summer vacations fishing and helped teach his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren how to surf fish.
• Clyde has a passion for baking sour dough bread and rolls, also scones that prior to COVID-19 he loved giving away to neighbors, friends and his Sunday School class.
• He also loves to garden with a purpose of gifting to others as well.