Jeannine Humphrey, long-time New Port Richey resident, featured in the Expressions Calendar
NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla. (Jan. 25, 2023) — Jeannine Humphrey, a long-time New Port Richey resident and current resident of The Watermark at Trinity, has been featured in the 2023 Expressions Calendar. The award-winning calendar celebrates active aging and the arts and features her drawing titled “The Judge” in the Creative Inspiration section.
Humphrey created the piece more than 20 years ago and found inspiration from a picture in a magazine. While she has no formal art training, she’s taken classes over the years and has always had a deep appreciation for the arts.
“I haven’t done any drawing in many years, but really enjoyed it at the time,” said Humphrey, 93. “It’s been wonderful to see my art brought back to life in the Expressions Calendar.”
Humphrey may be best known for the role she played in bringing murals to downtown New Port Richey in the early 2000s. She served as head of the mural committee, which was responsible for adding four murals to the downtown corridor. The most popular, “Dining and Dancing at the Hacienda Hotel in the 1920s” by artist Chad Leininger, can be found along Main Street across from the Hacienda Hotel.
“We decided that we needed to spiff up downtown and that murals would a good idea,” said Humphrey. “No one had ever done that before, so we went to the powers that be and asked for their blessing. They gave their approval to paint a mural on a privately-owned building and that’s what got us started.”
The first mural that was painted in downtown was “Dining and Dancing at the Hacienda Hotel in the 1920s.” It features the faces of New Port Richey residents, including Humphrey and her current neighbors at The Watermark at Trinity Marsha and Jay B. Starkey. Residents paid $500 to be included in the murals, which funded the project in its entirety.
“Marsha was a friend of mine at the time and still is,” said Humphrey. “If you look at the mural, they are seated at the table at the Hacienda Hotel and I’m the lady in blue on the left. It’s hard to believe that when the mural was painted the Hacienda Hotel was still under consideration to be redone. Sixteen years later and the hotel has been brought back to its former glory and the mural is still there.”
Humphrey and her neighbors at The Watermark at Trinity will be visiting the Hacienda Hotel on January 30 for lunch and a tour. During the outing, they’ll stop by the mural to see Jeannine and the Starkeys preserved in a piece of local history.
The Expressions Calendar is published by Watermark Retirement Communities. The calendar has been awarded a Mature Media Award from the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) and an ADDY Award® from the Tucson Advertising Federation.
About The Watermark at Trinity
Located in Trinity, Fla., The Watermark at Trinity is a 218-residence retirement community offering independent living, assisted living and memory care in the Pasco County suburb of Trinity. Differentiators of the community include certified associates, continuous care and an extraordinary lifestyle built on an abundance of choices. Owned and managed by Watermark Retirement Communities, The Watermark at Trinity is committed to creating an extraordinary community where people thrive. To learn more visit www.WatermarkCommunities.com.
About Watermark Retirement Communities®
Watermark creates extraordinary and innovative communities where people thrive. We believe aging is about renewal rather than retirement. Watermark communities are known for highly trained and caring associates, a lifestyle built on choice, fine amenities, integrative wellness and innovative programs including the award-winning Watermark University featuring a wide variety of engaging classes for residents and area seniors. Watermark has been named in the top 25 Best Workplaces for Aging Services in a national program conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute and published on Fortune.com. A privately held company with a reputation for over 30 years for service, innovation, integrity and financial stability, Watermark manages more than 70 retirement communities in 22 states coast to coast. Based in Tucson AZ, Watermark is ranked as the nation’s 10th-leading senior housing operator by the American Seniors Housing Association. Visit watermarkcommunities.com for more information.