Garden Spot Village Resident Spotlight | David & Karen Stambovsky

David and Karen Stambovsky have a cinematic love story. Karen grew up in Lancaster County, the daughter of a Mennonite farmer, and David grew up in Massachusetts, the son of a Rabbi. Nearly 40 years ago, they had their “meet cute” on a plane.

They were sitting in separate sections, but it was love at first sight for David. He left his seat to talk to Karen and proposed before the plane landed. After about a year of traveling back and forth to see one another, they were married here in Lancaster. The couple traveled the world and called many places home, and now they live happily-ever-after in retirement at Garden Spot Village in Lancaster County. 

Garden Spot Village is a licensed, nonprofit, faith-based continuing care retirement community. Karen’s parents lived at Garden Spot for years before she and David moved there in March 2022.

“Seeing how they cared for my parents, we realized more and more what we would need in a residential community, so living here now has been a real joy,” says Karen.

Their independent living apartment connects to a memory support suite where Karen’s mom lives. This unique arrangement allows the couple to care for their family while living engaging, active, and purposeful lives.

David enjoys long-distance open-water swimming and hopes to start a swim team at Garden Spot Village. “I like the community at Garden Spot,” David said. “Every person we’ve met here, residents and staff, are kind people, and the amenities are beyond compare.” The energetic couple still travels the world together, but they are happy to come home to the Lancaster community they love.