Grand Marshal 'Jr.' Ousley Kicks Off Peabody Tulip Fest
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Staff Report-
NORTH MANCHESTER – As the parade lineup formed just before 9 a.m. Saturday for Peabody Retirement Community’s 18th Annual Tulip Festival, Grand Marshal Elmer “Jr.” Ousley rolled up in his golf cart to kick off the festivities. Ousley, 72, is a song leader, Hall of Fame coach and popular Peabody resident. He entered the facility in 2012 after being diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia. “I believe Jr. was named grand marshal because Peabody wanted to thank him for his service to the community,” said Linda Ousley, his wife, in a release from Peabody Retirement. Before becoming a Peabody resident, Elmer Ousley had served for years as a song leader at the Amazing Grace Community Church that he and Linda attended in Sidney. When he moved to the Frank and Laura Smock Memory Enhancement Center three years ago, he continued the tradition at Peabody, where he has been a constant inspiration to residents and staff alike, according to the release. Linda visits Peabody every day, and for years they have begun each morning together with her husband playing guitar and leading all the residents attending 10 a.m. morning devotions in three songs. Residents have joined in with renditions of “Happy and You Know It,” “Jesus Loves Me” and “Oh, How I Love Jesus.” According to Linda, her husband has always been good with his hands – from guitar playing to ball playing, and his chosen profession. By trade, he worked as a self-employed orthopedic metal finisher for nearly 50 years, honing metal bone screws and welding stainless steel hip and knee joints. Linda says her husband also was a good athlete. Elmer played baseball in school, but in later life found a real love for coaching – from his grandkids’ T-ball teams to Men’s Division 1 Softball. In 2011, he was inducted into Indiana’s National Softball Association Coaching Hall of Fame.
