Walnut Hills Stories

One year ago, surrounded by family, friends, and community members, Bertha Bontrager Rhodes stepped forward with a pair of scissors and cut the ribbon at  Bontrager Ridge Assisted Living at Greencroft Middlebury. 

For most, it marked the opening of a new building. 

For Bertha, it marked something more — a full-circle moment decades in the making. 

The Bontrager family served as lead donors for the $5.3 million project, continuing a long legacy of generosity and service. But Bertha’s connection to Greencroft reaches back much further — long before the building bore her family’s name, and long before she would one day call the campus home. 

“I have been involved with Greencroft for many years,” she said with a smile at the dedication. “It seems like I’ve been involved forever.” 

Middlebury Needs Greencroft 

In 1987, Bertha was invited to join the Greencroft board by then-CEO Gene Yoder, who knew her and her late husband, Lloyd, through their work at Jayco and their reputation for giving back. 

At the time, Bertha was already carrying significant responsibility. Two years earlier, she had lost Lloyd unexpectedly and had stepped into leadership as Chairperson of the Board at Jayco. Still, when asked to serve at Greencroft, she said yes. 

“Service to others and generosity, it was our life,” she shared. 

Not long after she joined the board, discussions began about expanding Greencroft to a second campus. Shipshewana was under consideration. Bertha saw things differently. 

“Middlebury is the one that needs you,” she told them. 

The board agreed and started to plan for a Middlebury campus, with Bertha serving on the advisory board until a Middlebury board was formed. 

Greencroft acquired land for the new campus in 2002, construction began in 2003, and the first residents moved in the following year. Bertha remained on the board until 2010, completing 21 years of service. 

A decade later, the family would once again step forward, this time to help bring assisted living services to the Middlebury campus. Bertha’s son Wilbur served as honorary campaign chair, and her granddaughter Kim Huffman joined the Greencroft Middlebury board. 

Serving together, across generations, remained a defining part of the family’s story. 

Building a Life and a Business 

Bertha and Lloyd were married in 1952 during the Korean War. As a conscientious objector, Lloyd served in a mental health facility in Ypsilanti, Michigan — an experience that helped shape their shared commitment to serve others. 

“I think our feeling of service — this is our life, this is what we’re meant to do — started then,” Bertha said. 

When Lloyd’s alternative service ended, he and Bertha and their two young children, Wilbur and Julie, moved back to Middlebury. Lloyd returned to his job at Star Tank & Boat Company in Goshen, where he designed the first Starcraft crank-up camping trailer. 
Their family grew with the addition of two more sons, Derald and Donald, and a second little girl, Cindy Jean. Bertha and Lloyd began dreaming and praying about building a company of their own. 

“Why not?” Bertha encouraged her husband. 

“We believed this was God’s plan for us,” Bertha wrote in her book Grace for the Journey. “We could provide a clean, wholesome workplace for friends, family, and community. We could build a well-built camping trailer for families to enjoy, believing camping together helps keep families together.” 

In 1968, that dream became Jayco, launched in a converted barn and two chicken houses on their 80-acre family farm. 
Their youngest son, Wendall Jay, was born that same year, sharing Lloyd’s middle name, which had inspired the company name and the Blue Jay logo. 

The business grew alongside their six children, and so did their sense of purpose. 

A Sudden Loss 

Easter Sunday, 1985, changed everything. 

Lloyd and Wendall were returning from a spring break trip to Florida when their plane crashed. There were no survivors. Wendall was 16. Lloyd was 52. 

In an instant, Bertha lost her husband of 32 years and her youngest son. 

In the midst of that loss, Bertha stepped forward to lead. She became Chairperson of the Board at Jayco, reassuring more than 400 employees that the company would continue. 

“Grieving is hard work,” she shared. “But I knew I could not stay there. God gave me the strength to face each day.” 
Bertha’s four older children were young adults, starting families of their own. Only Cindy remained at home. 

“We bonded with our grief,” Bertha said. “We walked that journey together.” 

Caring Through Life’s Next Chapter 

In 1989, Bertha married Jay Rhodes. Just three years later, Jay suffered a debilitating stroke. 
Bertha became his caregiver, helping him navigate years of physical challenges that included additional health setbacks and frequent therapy. Many of those services came through Greencroft, where Bertha’s earlier board experience helped her navigate the complexities of care. 

As Jay’s needs increased, the family made the difficult decision for him to move to Walnut Hills Nursing Home 
in Ohio, a Greencroft community closer to his children. For the next decade, Bertha made the five-hour drive regularly to spend time with him. 

Jay passed away in 2020. 

Through each season, Bertha’s commitment remained steady — showing up, caring deeply, and continuing 
to serve. 

A Legacy That Endures 

Meanwhile, Jayco continued to grow under the leadership of the second generation. Bertha continued her involvement as Chairperson Emeritus, or as some would later tease, Chief Emotional Officer. 

"My goal, always, was making sure our Jayco family was being cared for," Bertha said.

The company reached major milestones, including producing its one millionth unit in 2016, and became the world’s largest privately owned RV manufacturer. 

In 2016, the Bontrager family made front page news again when they announced they had sold Jayco to Thor Industries. The decision to sell came after many family meetings and much prayer. 

“Selling Jayco was a tearjerker,” Bertha said. “That was our life. I believed it was in God’s timing, but it was still a time of sadness and adjustment. Jayco was like my seventh child.” 

Even as the business changed, the family’s commitment to generosity did not. 

Coming Full Circle

The COVID-19 pandemic stalled fundraising and plans to bring assisted living to Greencroft Middlebury. The project resumed in 2022, and by fall 2023, Bontrager Ridge welcomed its first residents. 

But even as the building neared completion, the family faced another profound loss. Bertha’s daughter, Cindy Hawkins, was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2023 and passed away in May of 2024. 

"I felt in my grief that I had hit the deepest pit possible." Bertha said.

In the months that followed, she faced yet another transition — closing the home filled with decades of memories, downsizing, and moving to Greencroft Middlebury. Her new home is just a short walk from Bontrager Ridge. 

Her former home had been the focal point for family gatherings, grandchildren sleepovers, and Jayco employee barbecues. Cindy’s family lived across the field in the farmhouse Bertha had shared with Lloyd. 

“It’s hard work to move and let go of things,” Bertha said. "It was not fun or joyful."

And yet, “God has been good and merciful,” she added. “In your sorrow and grief, you can still have joy in the Lord.” 

“I Am Finally Here” 

At the dedication of Bontrager Ridge in May 2025, Bertha reflected on the journey that had brought her there. 

“This past year has been a tough and busy one for me,” she said. “Downsizing and moving — and losing a daughter.” 
Then she paused, and smiled. 

“I was asked many times if I would ever move to Greencroft,” she said. “I’d say, ‘Maybe someday.’” 

That day has come. 

“I am finally here.”