A Tip of the Hat to Dixielee & Ray

By Rick Banas, Vice President of Strategic Marketing at BMA Management

Let’s tip our hats to Dixielee and Ray Ross, residents of the Cambridge House affordable assisted living community in O’Fallon, Illinois.

When Dixielee welcomed me into her apartment so we could chat, she had a stack of the latest edition of the O’Fallon Progress newspaper sitting on her lap. She had been crocheting an Afghan as she waited for Ray, her husband and high school sweetheart, to return from getting his hair cut in the community’s Barber Shop. She pointed out the photos of their engagement, wedding, five sons and seven grandchildren that she had on display in their apartment.

She had every right to brag. Dixielee and Ray were celebrating their 54th Wedding Anniversary.

The reason that she had so many copies of the O’Fallon Progress was that the newspaper featured a picture and story about the new Red Hat group that Dixielee had organized. As Queen Mother of the “Wrinkles in Time” group, Dixielee wanted to be sure that copies of the paper would be available for all those who had attended the first get together that was held in February in the private dining room at Cambridge House. Click here to read the article.

Cambridge House of O'Fallon - Red Hat Group

“We don’t have meetings.” Dixielee explained. “We are a bunch of little girls playing dress up. All we have to do is eat, drink and be merry.”

Dressing up in their Red Hats for the first time, members with names such as Charming Charlotte, Exquisite Eleanor and Ravishing Rita told stories about their hats, tea cups and saucers. Cream puffs, éclairs and three varieties of tea were served.

“We’ll be meeting every other month at Cambridge House,” says Dixielee. “The other months, we’ll go out.”

Fond memories of having been a member of a Red Hat Society in Alabama for about nine years is what prompted Dixielee to start the Wrinkles in Time group.

Dixielee and Ray moved back to the St. Louis Metro East area to be closer to family. They made the move to Cambridge House of O’Fallon on September 1, 2009.

Dixielee, who has been involved in sales all her life, says she fell in love with Cambridge House as soon as she came in the door.

“In eleven days, we went from nine rooms to two rooms,” says Dixielee. “It is the best thing we ever did. The staff is so helpful and so eager to please.”

Also for Dixielee, the location is great as her sister, Sandra, lives only two blocks away.

Buying into the idea of moving to assisted living was much more difficult for Ray to accept. He had worked as a Production Control Supervisor for MacDonald Douglas before retiring in 1992. As the man of the house, he saw providing for the needs of the family as his responsibility. As much as he appreciates the attention he receives at Cambridge House, he never envisioned this role reversal.


All affordable assisted living communities managed by BMA Management, Ltd. are certified and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. All assisted living communities are licensed and surveyed by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

“BMA Management, Ltd. is the leading provider of assisted living in Illinois
and one of the 20 largest providers of assisted living in the United States.”

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Gardant Management Solutions has 20+ years of industry-acclaimed operational history in developing, managing and consulting for senior living, assisted living and memory care communities.