Meet Terry “Scooter” Hayes, Retired U.S. Army

 

For Veterans Day this November, JKV honors all 170+ retired military residents.  Here is one Veteran resident’s story and why she loves where she lives.  

After graduating from high school in 1976, Terry Hayes attended The Art Institute of Atlanta. After completing one year, she realized her family’s financial situation would not allow her to continue attending college, with two sisters also attending college.  So, she enrolled in the U.S. Army’s delayed enlistment program, following in her father’s footsteps.

Terry, who later adopted the nickname, “Scooter,” went to Fort McClellan, Alabama for basic training. According to Scooter, soldier women received the same training as men. But she loved the rigors of training and earned sharpshooter badges for her skills with both rifles and hand grenades.

Unfortunately, Scooter sustained a serious knee injury during basic training, which later limited her time in service.

After graduating, she went to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri to train as a heavy equipment operator.  There, Scooter learned to operate two-ton dump trucks, tractor-trailers, bulldozers, earth augers, scrapers, power rollers, and more.  As a petite, slightly-built woman, this was no easy feat, and her colleagues would notice and remark on it.  She was then sent to the Presidio of San Francisco to join the 51st Engineer Detachment.  She loved the Army and enjoyed the hard daily work.  However, her knee injury continued to plague her, so the time came that Scooter was no longer able to continue in service.

Years later, doctors determined that a progressive brain disease had begun during her military service.  Scooter became paraplegic in 2017.  Today, she belongs to Disabled American Veterans (DAV) and Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA).  She became an expert in fencing, competed in the National Veterans Wheelchair Games and participated in veterans’ downhill sit-skiing and adaptive waterskiing camps.

Scooter and Freda, her wife of 28 years, moved to JKV in 2024.  They love all the art classes, trips, and activities.  JKV is a perfect fit for this active and fun-loving couple. They say they just wish they had moved here earlier!

We are honored that Scooter and Freda, also a retired veteran, have chosen to make John Knox Village in Pompano Beach their home. 

 

John Knox Village (JKV)

For almost 60 years, JKV has set the bar when it comes to delivering an all-inclusive resort lifestyle designed for living life to the fullest at each stage of retirement. JKV emphasizes fitness and overall well-being with world-class programming, state-of-the-art amenities, healthy and delicious dining, and much more. Residents are entitled to unlimited use of healthcare services and 24/7 healthcare professionals on campus. There are no time or financial limits on the long-term care benefits that residents receive, regardless of the level of care required. Simply put, a life plan agreement at JKV provides a fiscal safety net with an unparalleled community geared to a wide range of needs, whatever the road ahead brings.

Want to learn more about what John Knox Village has to offer? Contact us today or call (954) 783-4040 to take a tour, or for a no-pressure conversation with one of our Life Plan Consultants.