When Morningside of Fullerton began welcoming its first residents in 1991 to the master planned retirement community in the northwest part of town, Wilson Phelps and his wife were in the first vehicle waiting at the gate.
Phelps’ brother and his wife were in the vehicle right behind them.
Soon, Phelps’ sister joined her two brothers at Morningside.
Then a cousin moved into the retirement community.
Today, the Phelps legacy in the community remains strong.
Three of Wilson Phelps’ children, John Phelps, 87, Louise Phelps Shamblen, 85, and Carol Phelps, 80, all call Morningside home.
John Phelps and Shamblen live across the street from each other and Carol Phelps is only a short walk away.
“I think we’re fortunate in that we’re very compatible,” John Phelps said as he sat between his sisters in the living room of Shamblen’s home. “And so, we enjoy each other’s company.”
But they are still siblings.
“We’re competitive, but in a good way,” Phelps said. “Fun competitive. We enjoy needling each other. But my two sisters are pretty good people … I don’t share that with them.”
A 2020 study published in the Journal of Family Theory & Review examining sibling relationships from midlife to older adulthood found that close sibling relationships are associated with less loneliness and depression, and better emotional well-being and resilience, especially in adulthood.
Siblings who continue to play a significant role in each other’s lives, providing support, companionship and a sense of connection, often thrive and are more resilient than other social relationships that can change over time, the study reported.
Shamblen, who purchased her home in 2013, was the first of the siblings to move into Morningside after her husband suffered a heart attack.
Eighteen months later, John Phelps purchased a home across the street. Baby sister Carol Phelps was the last to join about a year ago. She shares her time between the retirement community and a home she still keeps in Corona del Mar.
“Several times a week she (Carol) comes up and we play games together,” Shamblen said. “That was why she moved here, because she was up here all the time. I said, ‘Why don’t you just move in, get an apartment, you can be here part-time.’ I go down and cat-sit for her when she goes on trips.”
The three siblings have not been able to convince a fourth sibling, Jim, who also lives in Orange County, to join them at Morningside.
John Phelps was born when their parents still lived in Los Angeles and was 2 years old when the family relocated to Orange County, first to Anaheim and then settling in Fullerton.
“It wasn’t Fullerton at that time,” he said. “It was way out in the orange groves … Orangethorpe and Brookhurst.”
All three siblings attended Fullerton Union High School.
Shamblen spent her career as an elementary school teacher in the Fullerton and Brea Olinda school districts. Carol Phelps had careers living in Northern California as a social worker and a probation officer before opening a holistic health center.
John Phelps went on to work for Beckman Instruments in Fullerton before transitioning into commercial property management.
At one point, he worked for Tishman Realty & Construction Company, the main contractor for the World Trade Center, and later went to work for the family property management and development business.
“My brother and I … we’ve been working together for years and we’re still working. We have a business project together,” Phelps said.
When making the choice to buy a home in Morningside, Phelps said it was time for him and his wife to give up their big home, which “was getting to be a lot more work taking care of.”
“As you get older, being social and being around people is important,” he added.
In 2011, the Phelps family received a Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award for their dedication to charity throughout various cities of north Orange County.
Shamblen spends part of her time teaching art classes to Morningside residents.
John and Carol Phelps volunteer at a therapeutic equine riding center in Fullerton and all three work together for the family foundation.
“We all feel really fortunate that we’re still around,” Carol Phelps said. “And to be so close, for me anyway, to be so close in our last years is special.”