1923 – Mrs. Franke Tobey Jones

The Restholme was immediately successful, and the funds raised by the Circles were a lifesaver.   The “faith, hope and service” of all involved kept the Home above water financially.  The Old People’s Home caught the attention of a neighbor, Mrs. Franke Tobey Jones, who established an endowment fund as needed income to the Home. However, this fund and donations from the Circles and others, in addition to the sums charged residents, did not cover the expenses.  Still more financial aid was needed.  It became clear that a rental Home would not be satisfactory in the long run.  A new permanent location would be needed by the time the lease of the D Street Danaher residence expired.  The successful operation of the first Home, under the management of Mrs. Ada Gibson, furnished the necessary stimulant to persuade Mrs. Jones to provide further funds for a new Home.

On July 5, 1923, a dinner and celebration was planned at the Tacoma Hotel.  It was an occasion for Restholme progress reports and a farewell party for Mrs. Charles Jones, the guest of honor.  Mrs. Jones was a member of the Restholme Board of Trustees and the widow of one of the founders of the St. Paul and Tacoma Lumber Company.  She was about to leave for Europe and an extended tour of the battlefields of Flanders and France of World War I.  The reports celebrated the dream of the retirement Home for the deserving elderly and its realization in Restholme.  Then when the treasurer of Resthome concluded his report he disclosed the surprise announcement that the honored guest, who had already given the University of Puget Sound its central buildings, Jones Hall, as a memorial to her husband, was now presenting 58 lots near Point Defiance Park and $150,000 toward the building of a Home on this elegant site.  It was to be called the Franke Tobey Jones Home.  Franke Tobey Jones Home would be a permanent Home for the elderly where they could be free of concern over their future…and enjoy the companionship of people of like age.  The room was filled with loud applause and congratulations.