Quail Haven Senior Living Resident Thrives While Helping Out
April 1, 2023
Edward Nuti, a resident of Quail Haven Village senior living community in Pinehurst, North Carolina, wears a lot of hats: librarian, newsletter writer and Olympian.
Nuti, 88, and his wife, Barbara, have lived at Quail Haven for four years.
Since he’s always been interested in writing and reading, the cozy library at Quail Haven is where he enjoys being. Nuti initially took on the informal role of librarian because he wanted to organize its approximately 1,000 books. He alphabetizes them by author name, making life easier for other residents who like to curl up with a good book.
“A lot of residents have favorite authors,” he says. “I said to one resident that soon it will be alphabetized, and so, if you like the author, James Patterson, his books will be under P.”
The library receives donations of books, and Nuti works on finding space for these treasures. He often does his work of organizing the library in the afternoon or evening because the well-furnished library is also a place where residents like to hang out before meals. “Between 10 and 11 a.m., I can’t even get into the library,” he jokes. “People like to socialize there.”
Proving old habits die hard, Nuti also gave himself another volunteer activity at Quail Haven. He writes a monthly newsletter, which was something he’d also done previously for companies for which he worked. “I was always good at English. I love language, and I can spell with the best of them,” he says. The newsletter, called The Villager, is distributed to residents and features jokes and articles of interest, such as one about Easter that he’s planning to write.
In his free time—which he manages to squeeze in– Nuti bowls twice a week at a bowling alley two blocks away from Quail Haven and plays corn hole on-site at the community.
Nuti, and his wife, have known each other for 75 years and have been married for 66. They have three grown sons. They met in their Brooklyn neighborhood when Nuti’s brother tossed a ball to him, he turned to chase it and saw a beautiful girl walking by. She kicked the ball back to him, and he told his brother, ‘I’m going to marry that girl.’” Nuti grew up near Ebbets Field and loved baseball. At 16, he had a .680 batting average. When he was 16, he contracted polio, and his then sweetheart and now wife, Barbara, helped him stay positive and overcome it. After high school, he continued his education at night, earning his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Farleigh Dickenson University.
Prior to retiring, Nuti was director of logistics for an international manufacturer of nuclear steam generation equipment.
Earlier this month, Nuti participated in seated bowling in the Liberty Games which features residents of Liberty Senior Living’s independent living communities competing in a variety of games, including ping pong, billiards, bridge and more. Staying active is a big part of Nuti’s life, and he thrives on doing them at Quail Haven. “People ask me, ‘Why do you do all that you do?’” he says. “And I say, ‘Because I can.’”
Quail Haven Village
Quail Haven Village is full-service rental retirement community in Pinehurst, North Carolina, a city that boasts 41 golf courses and was named by newsbreak.com as one of the “Best Places to Enjoy Your Retirement.” Quail Haven Village offers independent living that supports a vibrant lifestyle in spacious garden-style apartments for active seniors. The Inn at Quail Haven, located onsite, offers assisted living, rehabilitation, skilled nursing and home care for both residents of the community and the surrounding area, thus providing a complete continuum of care for seniors. Quail Haven Village is owned and operated by Liberty Senior Living, LLC, a division of Liberty Healthcare Management that specializes in senior living and retirement communities. To learn more about Quail Haven Village visit quailhavenvillage.com. To learn more about Liberty Senior Living and the communities they offer, please visit www.LibertySeniorLiving.com .