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Theresa Tucciarelli helps people 55 and older transition to new living... (Shmuel Thaler/Sentinel)
LA SELVA BEACH -- At the age of 15, Theresa Tucciarelli got her first job working with senior citizens. Working as a waitress at the former Casa del Rey Retirement Hotel in Santa Cruz was the first job Tucciarelli ever had.
After decades of working in the restaurant industry, Tucciarelli, 48, has come full circle and is back working with senior citizens again.
In 2008 she started her own business, A Move Made Simple. Tucciarelli helps seniors and their families make what can be difficult decisions when it comes to downsizing, relocating and/or moving a senior into an assisted living facility, senior community or smaller home.

A member of the National Association of Senior Move Members as well as a Certified Senior Relocation Transition Specialist, Tucciarelli has become part of an industry she wasn't aware existed when she met with a Cabrillo College counselor in 2003.
"I had decided to change careers and go back to school because the restaurant schedule wasn't very family-friendly," said Tucciarelli, who had two young children at the time. "The counselor asked me what I liked to do, and I told her I liked to work with seniors. I also told her that I wanted to have a career that I really enjoyed, not just a job."
Tucciarelli was referred to Cabrillo's human services program and graduated with an associate's degree in liberal arts as well as a second in human services. With a goal of pursuing a master's degree in gerontology and eventually securing a teaching position in the field, Tucciarelli soon realized the financial hardship would be too much and began researching senior-related businesses online.
"While going to Cabrillo, I was cleaning houses to make ends meet," said Tucciarelli, a La Selva Beach resident who works out of Marina. "During a period of time, all of my clients happened to be seniors. I helped them organize and downsize and even moved a couple of them to smaller homes. That's when I realized I could start a business like that and found out about [the National Association of Senior Move Members]."
As a member of the organization, Tucciarelli has taken advantage of the networking opportunities. One of the nearly 90 moves she's worked on since starting her business included unpacking and resettling a senior citizen in Capitola who had begun the moving process with a NASMM member on Long Island, N.Y.
"The senior move management industry has been created in a large part because so many people are part of the sandwich generation right now," Tucciarelli said. "They're professionals trying to take care of their own families, their work and their elderly parents. A lot of time they live in different parts of the country and are unable to help their parents."
A former NASMM member, Laurie Rivoir started her business in 2007 to help seniors face the inevitable transitions that come with age.
As owner of Senior Life Steps, Rivoir, 60, has added to her senior move-management services by offering clients daily life-management assistance that might include helping a client pick up birthday cards or gifts for family members or compile a grocery list for the store.
"It's very traumatic for seniors to move out of the homes they're familiar with and to relinquish their favorite possessions and move to unfamiliar surroundings," said Rivoir, a Santa Cruz resident. "I offer them compassion and encouragement and try to help them adjust to a new life."
While a number of moving services are available in Santa Cruz County for clients of any age, Kimberly Doukas, 58, estimated that 60 percent of the clients of her business, Easy Transitions of Santa Cruz, are senior citizens.
"Moving is definitely one of the major events that we go through in life, especially for seniors because they may have been living in their homes for many, many years," said Doukas, a Santa Cruz resident. "Personal objects are very important to them. Even if the objects don't have an inherent value, they have a deeply sentimental value, and I respect that. People sometimes need a shoulder to cry on, and that's what I'm all about."

Martha, 85, and John Contos, 88, said moving out of their longtime Scotts Valley condominium into an assisted-living facility was a smooth transition because of Tucciarelli's professionalism and kindness.
"As soon as we met her, it was if we'd known her for years," Martha said while holding Tucciarelli's hand during a recent visit. "It was as if she was part of our family."
Added John, "Theresa works tirelessly for the individuals she's helping. She's offered so much of herself to us to please and satisfy and meet our needs."
For Tucciarelli, developing close friendships with her clients has been more the norm rather than the exception.
"I had an early connection with seniors as a teenager and realized I liked being around them," Tucciarelli said. "I love what I'm doing, and my family is so proud of me.
"I feel like seniors have a lot to teach us," she said. "One of my clients saw Mount Rushmore being built. I realize that I'm working with living history on a daily business. I just love it."

AT A GLANCE

Overview of aMoveMadeSimple.com

OWNER: Theresa Tucciarelli
WHAT: A senior move-management service assisting in downsizing, packing, moving and resettling a senior into a new home.
WHERE: Serving Santa Clara, San Benito, Monterey and Santa Cruz counties in California.
WHEN: By appointment, contact Theresa at 831-539-1000 or movinggal@gmail.com
INFORMATION:  aMoveMadeSimple.com Moving Services For Seniors in Transition