“Our goal is to continue to provide a first class facility in Durango for the residents of this great community.”—Robert R. Hilger
Robert Hilger was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and his wife Jacqueline was born in Passaic, New Jersey. Mr. Hilger moved with his parents to Florida in 1948, where he later met and married Jacqueline. Together they have two wonderful children, a son Robert C. Hilger, who resides in Crystal River, Florida, with his wife Jan and their two children Jennifer and Joshua. Hilger's daughter Marilyn Karmazyn lives with her two daughters Kathryn and Kristyn in Princeton, New Jersey. Family is the number one priority for the Hilgers and they use this philosophy as the foundation for daily life and business practices.
Before establishing his first Assisted Living facility, Robert Hilger spent 24 years in Florida in the nursery business. Mr. Hilger was a landscape architect, who owned and operated a wholesale nursery, retail nursery and a commercial and residential landscape contracting business. After 24 very successful years in the industry, an unfortunate contamination of inventory forced Mr. Hilger to close the business and search for another means of income.
The Hilgers regrouped and used their “focus on the family” approach to enterprise an assisted living facility in Ocala, Florida. Mr. Hilger’s mother, Elsie, had struggled for years with ongoing dementia and related problems, and Mr. Hilger was very familiar with the aging process. “My mother was 40 years old when I was born, so I grew up around older parents and relatives. I have always been very comfortable with the elderly, so the process of this business has always come naturally to me,” states Robert Hilger. Thus, the Hilgers understand the need to help other families in similar situations have options for quality care. After several years of successful operation in Florida, the Hilger’s love of the mountains and skiing inspired them to open another facility in Durango, Colorado.
The Hilgers moved to Durango in 1996, and began developing and operating Sunshine Gardens Senior Community. Over the past decade, there have been many changes and additions to the community to offer a variety of services. Today Sunshine Gardens is proud to provide many levels of quality care for the independent, to the memory impaired, and those in between. “Aging can be a difficult process for both an individual and their family,” states Robert Hilger. “Our goal is to make this process as beautiful as possible for our residence.”
When asked what made Sunshine Gardens such a success, Mr. Hilger replied,
“The major elements of operating a successful, caring facility are the people who work there, pure and simple. One must have a staff that really cares about the residents. Fortunately, we have many staff members at our communities that are very good people. Jackie and I feel good about that. I must also say that our day-to-day administrative and marketing staff are exceptional. They spend much time and effort with family members, making it the best experience possible, as they struggle with their aging loved-one’s needs.” Mr. Hilger continues, “The most important element in running a senior care community is doing things right and giving the best care possible to your residents. The rest will just fall in place.”
You can reach Robert Hilger at roberthilger@durango.net