From military families that have lived all over the world to international jet-setters who have seen more than 100 countries, the 10 Wilmington Place family always loves hearing stories from our residents who have done and seen lots of great things around the globe. 

But sometimes, the people who make the biggest impact are the ones who focus their efforts back home and in the communities they care about most. 

In that category, it’s hard to top Bob Berlon and his late wife Lynn, who passed away in 2022. 

Married since 1959 (they met when they entered the same kindergarten class in Cleveland), Bob and Lynn knew they had something special very early when she took him to her high school spring concert. 

“We didn’t get serious until the second grade,” Bob jokes. 

The pair spent the first part of their lives together in Cleveland, where they had the first of their eight children. The family moved to the Kettering area in 1978, where they spent another 13 years before one last big move to Atlanta, which would become their home base for more than 30 years. 

Early on, the international organization L’Arche caught the interest of Bob and Lynn. The global group of nonprofit organizations works to advance the rights and inclusion of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, helping foster leadership, community engagement and friendship. By the early 70s, they were heavily involved in the local chapters of the organization, working with those in their communities that needed help. 

“That was a significant part of our lives,” Bob said. “None of my children have intellectual or physical disabilities, but we found this community. We would have 30, 35 people in our living room and downstairs den once a month to share our lives with people and friends with disabilities. It was quite the experience. That was a significant part of our lives, and it still is, for me.” 

The Berlons’ connection with L’Arche was a deep one. So when they moved to Atlanta in the 1990s and found that there was no local chapter of the group, they became part of the original team that set up an Atlanta chapter. Soon, the group became a way for Bob and Lynn to pass their values on to their own kids. 

“I remember the very first time we had a meeting in our home, my son came home from school and we told him, ‘Oh, you don’t need to be involved,’” Bob said. “But he came to the first meeting and sat on a stool and looked over his shoulder at us like, ‘Is it OK?’ He became heavily involved with it, and it was great that the kids encountered that.” 

Through it all, Bob and Lynn’s relationship remained the focal point of their lives and their large family. Early in their marriage, Bob remembers a priest telling them, “The day will come when you will flow in and out of each other.” At the time, they didn’t know what he meant, and they left a bit bewildered. 

But a few weeks later, the two sat on the couch on a quiet evening after the kids had gone to sleep, listening to a record that meant a lot to them and enjoying the quiet and the company. 

“We were holding hands and both of us, all of the sudden, had this experience of flowing in and out of each other,” Bob said. “We just looked at each other and said, ‘Wow.’ And then we burst out laughing. It was extremely profound and also extremely human. She and I had that spiritual style.” 

Their connection and their spirituality led the pair to a wide range of places and causes, giving back to the community in a variety of ways. Undoubtedly, one of the highlights was Lynn’s founding of a mime troupe formed with adults with developmental disabilities that performed a stage adaptation of Shel Silverstein’s popular children’s book, The Giving Tree. In 1989, Lynn was inducted into the Montgomery County Hall of Fame for her efforts. 

After Lynn’s death in December of 2022, Bob decided to return home to Ohio for retirement, and found 10 Wilmington Place the perfect fit for the lifestyle he wanted to lead. He had considered and toured multiple other communities, but didn’t feel right at any of them. He was disappointed by their lack of activity and amenities. But when he came to 10 Wilmington Place, he felt a unique atmosphere and found an apartment he loved. 

“It was a totally different experience,” he said. “This is a 10, and all the other places are 1s. It’s that radical of a difference. My room is 1,000 square feet — that’s bigger than my first house, with eight kids in it! Everything about it is great.” 

Always a fan of language, Bob has rediscovered a love of poetry that began in his school days. He had never pursued it much as an adult, but has found a “new passion” in writing, and is very active in the Writers’ Circle at 10 Wilmington Place. But he’s no introvert — he’s also become a key instigator of great conversations around the community. 

“I think my contribution is to ask a lot of questions and get people talking,” he said with a laugh. “We have happy hour three days a week. There are times when I sit down at a table with nine people and I’ll ask something like, ‘What’s your earliest memory of your life?’ or things of that nature, and it gets the ball rolling. People wake up and they share. We’ve had some really fascinating conversations around here.” 

When he’s not participating in an activity or writing poetry, Bob loves to mingle with fellow community members, learning about their passions and lives. He’s been at 10 Wilmington Place for less than a year, but he’s been blown away by the interesting people he’s found here, and is thrilled at the way the community uplifts and empowers people, rather than slowing them down. 

“Many of the people who I’ve met are fascinating people; I’ll ask them about their story, and some of them are just powerful,” he said. “There’s a quality to the people here, and I think this place draws that out of people. It’s a function of a place like this. They don’t pretend like these people are already finished growing. If you’re not busy growing, you’re busy dying. This is a place that’s giving life to a lot of people.”