The Hilfiker Foundation is dedicated to the late Bernadine and Everett Hilfiker, who spent over 60 loving years together and knew how they wanted to live their last days. Those days were to be spent as much as possible in the comfort of the home they had planned, built, and made together. Bernadine and Everett represent all of us who want our last days of life to be as comfortable and joyous as theirs were.
The Hilfiker Foundation is ready to help with financial support for in-home care providers for the last days of life at home. Applications for this support are reviewed by our board of local citizens, all of whom have special interest and training in this field.
We go through life hoping to have a peaceful end in our own homes. We fear losing all control of our personal selves and becoming a burden to our friends and families with only the recourse of being in an institutionalized nursing home.
The Hilfiker Foundation wants to give families another option. We provide education and resources to help families plan alternatives to moving elderly loved ones out of their homes.
ORIGINS
Bernadine Hilfiker was a loving mother and wife when she died at her own home shortly after reaching her 94th birthday. She had wanted to pass away peacefully in her own home when that time came. She was frustrated a few weeks before when she was in a skilled nursing facility, and her family was concerned that they were unable to provide for her at home. Ultimately, and fortunately in time, her family was able to bring her home and provide care for her. She was able to enjoy being at home and see spring bring beauty to her own yard, which she had developed and loved for so many years. She saw her treasured Carolina Silverbell tree bloom one more time.