After 26 years in Alaska, Bob and Kate Brennan were ready for their next adventure. Their search for a faith-based senior living community with a continuum of care ultimately led them more than 3,500 miles to Cedar Community in West Bend, Wisconsin, where they found a new home surrounded by nature, new friendships, and plenty of ways to stay involved.
A Life of Adventure
Bob Brennan was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he grew up with three older sisters and one younger brother. Kate Green was born in Elgin, Illinois, and grew up in Barrington, Illinois, with one brother and two sisters.
Their story began when Bob and Kate met while attending the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. They were married three years later, and after graduation, they lived in Plymouth, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis.
Bob majored in English literature. After college, he attended Minneapolis Technical College, where he studied aviation mechanics and electronics. He earned his Airframe and Powerplant license, as well as an FCC Electronics license, and began working for Northwest Airlines. Bob started in the radio shop and later moved into aircraft maintenance, working on larger planes, including 757s, 747s, and DC-10s, for 20 years. When Northwest Airlines went on strike, Bob accepted a line engineer position with Cathay Pacific Airways, where he worked for 13 years.
Kate graduated with a degree in social work and later earned her teaching degree in special education. She began her career with the Minneapolis Public School system. After moving to Alaska, she worked for a private agency before joining the Anchorage School District as a work coordinator. In this role, she partnered with local businesses to provide young adults with job experiences. She really enjoyed her work and spent more than 45 years working with young adults ages 18 to 22.
26 Years in Alaska
It had long been Bob and Kate’s dream to move to Alaska. For five years, Bob placed his name into consideration for positions in Anchorage. In 1996, they finally made the move and settled in Chugiak, near Anchorage.
Their home sat on two and a half acres in a fairly remote, heavily wooded area. From their house, they could see the Chugach Mountains to the south and the Alaska Range and Turnagain Arm, an inlet from the Pacific Ocean, to the north. In the winter, they could even see Mount McKinley on the horizon.
Exploring Alaska often required more than a car, and Bob and Kate owned a small plane. During their time there, they visited Fairbanks and Juneau and took the ferry to Ketchikan. They drove to the Chena Hot Springs north of Fairbanks and fished on charter boats out of Homer, Seward, Nikiski, and Valdez.
The charter mates would fillet the salmon and halibut and flash-freeze the fish. The next morning, Bob and Kate would pick up their cooler and bring their catch home. In Valdez, with a six-fish limit per person, they were able to return home with 12 silver salmon.
They also watched the start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and even followed parts of the race from the air. Their veterinarian lived next door and owned a sprint racing dog team, while the neighbor on the other side had an Iditarod team. Some evenings, one dog would begin howling, and a neighbor dog on the other side would answer back. Soon, all the dogs would be singing, a sound Bob and Kate enjoyed.
In addition to their Alaskan adventures, Bob and Kate traveled to Miami, Hawaii, Ireland, France, China, and Singapore, their favorite. From Minnesota, they also took a motorcycle trip through the mountains to Seattle and back.
Finding Cedar Community
After retiring, Bob and Kate began searching for a continuum of care senior living community. There were no such places in Alaska, so they searched online for “faith-based senior living,” which led them to Cedar Community.
Liz Goldberg, then the move-in coordinator, and Abby Jonasson, sales director, helped guide them through the process.
It was hard to leave Alaska after 26 years, but in May 2022, they drove their camper 3,500 miles to Cedar Community.
Their entire household was loaded onto a semi, driven to the Port of Anchorage, transported by container ship to Tacoma, Washington, and then sent by train to Chicago. When it arrived in Chicago, there was a shortage of union truck drivers, so their belongings were stuck there for six weeks.
3,500 Miles to a New Home
Meanwhile, Bob and Kate, along with their dog, Penny, drove nine days from Alaska to Wisconsin.
Along the way, they blew two tires. Frost heaves prompted a fender brace rod to break and rub against the tire, causing it to wear rapidly and burst.
The first tire blew near Whitehorse, Yukon, in the middle of nowhere. Kate heard a chainsaw in the distance and walked toward it with Penny. The man she found had a generator, compressor, and the tools needed to help Bob change the tire. Kate referred to him as “the angel in the woods.”
The second tire blew near Great Falls, Montana. Once again, another “angel” appeared, this time with a large toolbox in his truck to help change the tire.
Feeling at Home From the Start
When Bob and Kate arrived at Cedar Community, they moved into their independent living home on the Cedar Ridge Campus.
Liz arranged for them to stay in a guest room at the independent living apartments until they were able to purchase a mattress. Neighbors brought food and provided basic furniture and household items until their belongings finally arrived six weeks later.
Bob and Kate say the warmth and kindness of the team members and residents were unbelievable.
A New Kind of Adventure at Cedar
Two years later, Bob and Kate moved into a Village Home in the North Village, which they describe as the perfect home on a wooded lot where they can enjoy nature.
They love watching birds and wildlife from their windows and walking the wooded trails and around Big Cedar Lake.
Bob volunteers as a pontoon boat captain and golf cart driver at Cedar Community. He is also a docent at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh and is regularly at the Cedar Community Woodwork Shop, where Kate sometimes joins him.
Kate volunteers at the West Bend Food Pantry twice a week and at the St. Vincent de Paul Society at their church, helping people in need.
Bob and Kate also took Penny, their therapy dog, to visit residents at The Aspen at Cedar Lake, Cedar Community’s assisted living. Penny also walked with them in the Village Fourth of July parade. In late winter, Bob and Kate volunteer with the maple syrup project.
They came a long way to find the perfect place to live and retire, and they found it.
Originally published in the Spring 2026 issue of Live More magazine.
