Lillian Darden,
daughter of Foundation
of Wesley
Woods founder
Warren Budd, left,
and Foundation
of Wesley Woods
President Diane
Vaughan visit the
Wesley Woods
Towers senior
living facility in
Atlanta
♦
Thomas Hartwell
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FACTBOOK 2020 179
Methodist Church on the campus of Emory
University, along with many other life
events, she said, was a divine intervention.
She said that assignment gave him the
opportunity to partner with Emory, and in
1954, the North Georgia Conference approved
Budd’s idea for the ministry, which
led to the first Wesley Woods facility off
Clifton Road.
“But he had to raise the money,” Lillian
Darden said. “Another divine intervention:
The Emory community — after he
started raising the money — sold him
this property for a dollar. It was a dump, a
literal dump.”
The building wasn’t occupied until 1968,
she said.
As Budd continued to relocate to
churches around north Georgia and
Atlanta, he continued spreading the word
and raising money for expansion of the facilities.
She said Budd worked tirelessly to
raise money to support the organization’s
work and its continued growth. The nonprofit
now serves about 1,800 residents
across 10 north Georgia locations.
“He mostly raised money on the golf
course,” Lillian Darden said, laughing. “He
was just good at golf, (and) he just convinced
people. ... He believed in his vision.”
Darden’s continued legacy
As she became more involved in school
and later in her husband’s campaign for
Congress, Lillian Darden said she couldn’t
volunteer at Wesley Woods as often. But
after Buddy Darden was no longer in
Congress, Lillian Darden said she was on
the foundation’s board and shortly after
was asked to be president.
Lillian Darden served from 1995 to
2010 and tried to continue her father’s
legacy, she said.
“I started coming over here a lot. I loved
it. I’d go to different places and I’d hit people
up for money,” she laughed.
Lillian Darden said some gifts, like
the $6 million donation from a church
• elegantly decorated interiors
• carling, optimistic professional staff
• life enrichment & holistic wellness programs
• spa & salon services
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