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By LISA G. CURRIE
Rappahannock New* SUIT Writer
Wilma Burke’s lifetime dream has come true.
The state licensed Sunny Slope Retirement Community, a 12-bed facility located on the outskirts of Flint Hill, this year. Its owners and operators are Mrs. Burke and her husband James, Flint Hill residents.
“Since I was a young child I’ve wanted to do this,” said Mrs. Burke, sitting in a cozy room in the huge Victorian home which looks out across the hills and valleys of Rappahannock County.
“As a child in school I would go from home to home to care for the elderly,” she said, a faraway look coming into her soft eyes.
The tall mother of six said that over 10 years ago she and her husband began looking for property to build a retirement community.
Property was purchased but building denied by the planning commission in Rockingham County, Mrs. Burke’s homeplace.
Her dream lived on.
When living in Sperryville, she tended to elderly neighbors near their country store, F.T. Valley Grocery located on Route 231.
One day she noticed the old Chandler property just off U.S. 522 was for sale, but Mrs. Burke said she didn’t even bother to look, just imagining the price beyond their budget.
In April 1991, they bought the property—25 of the 63 acres and the house—for $295,000.
Soon after the purchase, the couple began renovating the 10-plusroom house with new furnaces, new plumbing, new wiring, a sprinkler system and fire alarms.
Following state regulations for
88.9%