Artis Resident Reconnects with Family Legacy at Inclusive Park
July 30, 2026
MCLEAN, Va. — Caroline Simon, a resident at Artis Senior Living of Potomac, recently returned to Clemyjontri Park, an inclusive playground in Northern Virginia that is part of her family’s legacy.
Simon, 80, visited the park with fellow Artis Senior Living residents for a picnic outing honoring her connection to the accessibility-focused park and marking its 20th anniversary. Clemyjontri Park opened in 2006 as a place where children of all abilities could play together.
Clemyjontri Park was created through the vision and generosity of Simon’s mother, Adele Lebowitz, and the Lebowitz family. The park’s name was formed from the names of Lebowitz’s four children: Caroline, Emily, John and Petrina.
In a 2003 interview, Lebowitz, then 87, told The Washington Post that she was donating her family’s 18-acre estate to Fairfax County on the condition that a two-acre playground be designed specifically to accommodate children with disabilities. The remaining acreage was designated for open space, trails, gardens and other park uses.
“I’ve always been interested in children, and it seemed to me there should be a way that handicapped children should be able to feel less handicapped,” Lebowitz told the Post in 2003.
That vision shaped the playground’s accessibility-focused design. The McLean park includes accessible play areas, ramps, supportive swings, a rubberized surface, lowered play equipment, a carousel, a trackless train and picnic spaces designed for children of varying abilities.
For Simon, the outing also offered an opportunity to reconnect with her family’s role in creating a place intended to serve generations of children.
“This wasn’t about revisiting a place. It was about helping someone revisit a piece of themselves,” said John-Allen Yutzy, director of sales and marketing for Artis Senior Living of Potomac. “Watching her smile as she remembered the park her family gave to the community reminded me why I do this. There is no greater privilege than helping someone reconnect with the love, purpose and legacy they thought was lost.”
Artis Senior Living of Potomac is located at 8301 River Road in Bethesda, Md.
Artis Senior Living, founded in 2012, develops, owns and operates memory care and assisted living communities. The company is headquartered in McLean and operates 26 communities in Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
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