When senior citizens talk, Karen Davis is there to listen.

Davis, 40, has worked closely with elderly Iowa City residents for the past two and a half years, helping them transition into retirement-community life.

Often spending time helping those with Alzheimer’s and dementia, she said, her job inspires her every day.

“I have become very attached to each one of our residents — they mean the absolute world to me,” she said.

As marketing director for Legacy Active Retirement Community, her duties include more than salesmanship — she has penciled in advocate, listener, and companion into the job description as well.

“Part of my job is making people feel secure and knowing they are making the right choices,” Davis said.

She also consults with people whose elderly parents want to live in active retirement communities. After spending 10 years as the owner of Iowa City Signs & Graphics, she said, she decided to try something new. Since then, she refuses to let go of what she has found.

Davis serves as a facilitator for two support groups — multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s/dementia. It’s here that she works closely with people with the diseases.

Her fellow employees have noticed Davis’ connection with the residents.

“She is a fabulous person who is very dedicated to the residents,” said Jim Hunter, the executive director of Legacy Active. “She’s energetic, enthusiastic … she goes above and beyond.”

Through her work, Davis hopes to add to the residents’ lives.

“Especially those with Alzheimer’s and dementia — they deserve to have tremendous moments every day,” she said. “They might have good days and bad days, but they all have stories. They need someone to partake in those stories.”

As she grows close to each resident, she has had many heartwarming experiences. But her line of work also presents some inevitable difficulties, particularly when it comes to dealing with a death.

“It’s just heart-wrenching to lose some,” she said.

With her heavy involvement at Legacy Active, her hours are hardly 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., especially when she’s organizing community events. To help her out, the rest of the Davis family enlist their services.

Karen’s husband, Chris Davis, runs a children’s Easter egg hunt in the community, among other activities. Her two children, Derrick, 15, and Nicole, 12, also help whenever possible. Derrick has taken up the show-biz side, performing as Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and even Elvis Presely.

“It’s always a family affair,” Chris Davis said about events at the community center. “The kids know all the residents. It’s almost like they have a second set of grandparents.”

Residents dub the community “a campus,” Karen Davis said, with some comparing the social life to what they once found in their university residence halls.

Kirk Ferentz and the Hawkeye football team even stopped by recently to serve pancakes as a way to help raise money for the Alzheimer’s Association.

During her whirlwind of daily duties, Davis said, she looks forward most to her breaks — not for alone time, but so she can more casually visit with residents and listen to more of their encapsulating tales.

“We need to cherish our seniors,” she said. “They are what made this community what it is today.”