Linda Harris didn’t know how to boil water before she started her job as a cook at EverTrue Lenoir Woods.
Lenoir Woods, located at 3710 Lenoir St., offers independent and assisted living care for seniors in Columbia. Dining services at Lenoir Woods include restaurant-style and buffet-style dining as well as quick snacks in a bodega-style market.
Harris is a cook at Lenoir Woods, where she’s worked since the mid-1970s. She starts her day at 5:30 a.m. and begins with preparing the food, which she said typically consists of traditional American standards, like meatloaf and hamburgers for lunch and eggs and bacon in the morning.
She said her goal is for residents to feel at home and noted most residents grew up eating classic Midwestern meals. And the small sides Lenoir Woods offers, like fruit or soup, can make a big difference because sometimes, she explained, that’s all anybody has the appetite for at that time.
Jake Risk, director of clinical nutrition, said it’s important to have healthy food that people want to eat at a retirement community center. He referred to food as “medicine” and noted that some residents may have special dietary needs, like low sodium, but still deserve to have access to food they enjoy.
Harris’ role in the kitchen includes presenting the food, which she said is important because she wants to be sure residents have access to whatever they want and to feel comfortable asking for more.
Harris said she’s noticed residents are especially excited on Sundays, when the kitchen serves fried chicken for lunch, though some just prefer to eat the same thing every day, and Harris is quick to accommodate those residents.
The best part of her job is seeing residents happy and comfortable. Harris said the residents at Lenoir Woods and her co-workers throughout the entire facility have been like a second family to her in the last five decades.
“It’s just like a big family. I really enjoy working here,” she said.
Jason Martin, director of dining services at Lenoir Woods, said Harris has been invaluable due to her personality and ability to work with residents as well as her talents in the kitchen.
Harris said she feels as though she’s a major part of the residents’ lives in bringing them food five days a week. She said it’s crucial to be welcoming every day because the dining area is where some residents hang out for several hours, and she wants them to be comfortable.
“They see me every day; we talk and laugh. I’m a familiar face to them,” she said.
Her career at Lenoir Woods helped her later take care of her own mother, Harris noted.
She highlighted the importance of autonomy for residents: Somebody may want breakfast as late as 11 a.m., and Harris said it’s her job to accommodate them, considering Lenoir Woods is their home.
“You understand how to have patience with people,” Harris said.
She started working at the retirement community center when she was 17 years old. As she nears retirement at age 69, Harris said she’s grateful for the last 52 years.
She started as a weekend receptionist at Lenoir Woods and later became a server, then a cook, a baker, and supervisor for dining services.
“Every time a job came open, I took it,” Harris said.
Today, she is back as a cook and looking toward retirement, although she knows her last day won’t be easy. Her co-workers are already telling her they’ll miss her.
“Me walking out the door, it’s really going to be a challenge. I cry about it every time I talk about it,” she said.
She’s had countless co-workers, some of whom have been alongside her for several years and some of whom didn’t fall in love with the job the way she did more than 50 years ago.
Harris said she’s grateful for the other staff at Lenoir Woods, who were very patient in teaching her how to prepare and cook food for the residents she serves each day.
“Everything I learned, it was from here. I couldn’t even boil water before. My mother wouldn’t let us in the kitchen,” Harris said.
Harris did not expect to be with Lenoir Woods for 50 years when she was 17 years old. But she’s glad she was able to stay and make lasting relationships with her co-workers and the residents.
“I tell the young ones now to make sure they get in the (retirement) program because you never know. You say you’re not going to be here, and you are, and then you retire with hardly nothing in your pocket,” she said.
Harris’ next adventure will be a trip to South Africa, which she said she’s wanted to visit for most of her life.
NOTE: Lenoir Woods in Columbia became EverTrue Lenoir Woods when its parent organization, Lutheran Senior Services (LSS), rebranded to EverTrue in March 2025.
