In 1960, Katherine Conrad Brevillier of Erie, Pennsylvania willed her home and 17-acre East Lake Road estate to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul for charitable purposes. Dean Frederic Richardson Murray of the Cathedral of St. Paul and a church committee planned the complex now known as Brevillier Village. It was to be developed for older persons in three phases: an independent, low-income, apartment-living residence; a long- term care nursing home; and a housing complex to provide personal care services.
Conrad House was built in 1972 at the center of the Brevillier Estate and was designed to give all residents a view of Lake Erie. Katherine Brevillier’s maiden name was Conrad, thus the name Conrad House. Currently, Conrad House has 98 apartments after an extensive renovation.
Ball Pavilion opened as licensed skilled nursing in November of 1977. It received its name from Miss Oceana Ball, whose estate was bequeathed to the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Paul in 1933. In 1977, with only two ladies remaining in the home, the court decreed the Cathedral form a nonprofit known as the Ball Pavilion. This building was rebuilt and reopened in August 1998 on the east side of the East Lake Road property. A renovation project was completed in 2020 with the addition of private rooms and a rehabilitation suite.
Barnabas Court opened in 1986 and memorialized the mission and spirit of St. Barnabas House By-the- Lake. The 58-unit, semi-independent apartment complex strives to help residents maintain maximum independence by offering personal care services in a safe, secure environment. Barnabas Court South is structured more for social model personal care and North more medical personal care. The St. Barnabas Chapel and Education Center were built and dedicated in 2008. Interdenominational church services, memorial services, weddings, and baptisms are held in the chapel. The education center can accommodate up to 65, depending on seating, for social events and community/ educational programs.
Social Impact
Today, Brevillier Village, an Erie’s Choice Retirement Community for the past seven years, is well known in the community for the outstanding care provided to the residents.
“The person-centered care Mission can be witnessed on any given day, confirming that every staff member makes a unique and essential impact,” explains President and CEO Jeffrey Wieser.
The Ruth Pedersen Benevolent care fund has given $6,511,129 in care and services to those residents that no longer have the resources to pay for their care. Brevillier Village contributes over $175,000 in property taxes annually.
Intergenerational programming provides countless opportunities for local K-12 school aged students to interact with our residents. These encounters encompass both educational and personal life lessons that cannot be found in a classroom.
During 2023, there were 3,829 volunteer hours and 47 active volunteers at Brevillier Village. Volunteer opportunities extend throughout the entire Village and include recreation, dining services, clerical, events, groundskeeping and resident assistance. Volunteers are residents, their loved ones, friends, staff and others from the community. They are school groups, local parishioners, students, families and individuals.
“Whether they serve on our board of directors, escort residents, serve as floor reps or help with craft projects, all volunteers are valuable assets to our programming,” says Wieser. “We would not be able to provide many of the programs that we do without the support and dedication of our volunteers.”
To learn more, visit brevillier.org.
