Former Secret Service Agent Begins a New Adventure at Brandon Wilde

Bill Cravens has spent much of his life carefully preparing for the future.

As a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service, planning ahead could mean arriving in a foreign country weeks before a presidential visit, considering every possible scenario and determining security needs.

Decades later, Bill and his wife, Janet, found themselves looking ahead again — this time for their own future.

“We realized that at some point down the road, we were going to need some type of care and didn’t want to burden our families with it,” Bill explains.

That realization eventually brought them to Brandon Wilde, where they found the combination they were looking for an active lifestyle in a vibrant community and the reassurance of knowing additional support is available if they ever need it.

Brandon Wilde offers multiple levels of care — including personal care, memory care, and skilled nursing — on its Evans, Ga. campus.

“That takes the pressure off our family,” Bill says.

In addition, residents can choose between a spacious apartment or a cottage home of their own, like Bill and Janet did. Either way, everyone who lives at Brandon Wilde enjoys all the freedom that a maintenance-free lifestyle offers, including more time to enjoy all the classes, clubs, games, special events, parties, trips, and performances found on the senior living community’s jam-packed schedule.

A Career That Took Him Around the World

Bill was commissioned as a Secret Service Special Agent in August 1967, when the agency was still part of the U.S. Treasury Department.

At the time, much of the Secret Service’s work involved criminal investigations, including cases involving counterfeit currency and other crimes affecting the Treasury. Protection was another important part of the mission, although the list of people receiving Secret Service protection was considerably smaller than it is today.

Then came 1968.

Following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, protection was expanded to major presidential candidates. Bill and other new agents had their training shortened and were quickly dispatched on protective assignments during that year’s presidential campaign.

Bill was assigned to protect Vice Presidential candidate Spiro Agnew’s wife, Judy. After Nixon and Agnew were elected, he transferred to Agnew’s detail.

The work gave him an extraordinary vantage point on American history, but presidential protection was only one part of his Secret Service career. After Agnew resigned in 1973, Bill returned to field work, choosing an assignment in Louisville, Kentucky, where he focused on criminal investigations.

Even as field agents, members of the Secret Service routinely moved between protective assignments and criminal investigations, and agents across the country could be called upon whenever additional personnel were needed for a presidential visit.

That meant Bill never knew exactly where the job might take him next.

Over the years, assignments sent him throughout the United States and around the world. He worked presidential trips to Russia and China and was part of advance security teams in places including South Korea, Nigeria, and Portugal.

He also helped protect visiting international leaders, including Pope John Paul II during his first visit to the United States.

That assignment led almost immediately to one of the more unusual transitions of his career. After the Pope departed New York, Bill and several other agents were told to remain behind. They soon learned why: Fidel Castro was coming to the United Nations, and they would be assigned to his protective detail.

Bill still appreciates the irony of going directly from one assignment to the other.

The People Behind the Presidency

Despite the history unfolding around him, some of Bill’s strongest memories are of the personal relationships between Secret Service agents and the people they protected.

When an agent spends years assigned to a president or vice president, he explains, the relationship extends beyond the public figure.

“You trust them, and they trust you,” he says.

Bill remembers Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush particularly fondly because of their understanding of the job Secret Service agents had to perform.

He also had a firsthand view of how presidential security changed over the years.

Before Reagan took office, the Secret Service had advocated for the increased use of magnetometers — the walk-through metal detectors now familiar to anyone who has passed through airport security — at presidential events. After Reagan was shot in 1981, their use became much more widespread.

For Bill, it was one of many examples of a career that was constantly evolving.

It was also a career that required considerable time away from home. Some assignments lasted several days or weeks. His longest stretch away was approximately six weeks while working as part of an advance team for a vice presidential trip around the world.

Campaign seasons were especially demanding, with agents potentially spending three weeks away, returning home and then heading back out again.

By the time the 1992 presidential campaign approached, Bill decided he was ready for a change. After 24 years with the Secret Service, he retired in 1991.

Putting Family First

Retirement gave Bill the opportunity to focus on another important part of his life: family.

He and Janet married after his retirement and blended their families. Together, they have five daughters, five grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

One of their favorite traditions brings the entire group together each year for a week at the beach, where they rent a large house with enough room for multiple generations of the family.

After living for many years in Kentucky, Bill and Janet eventually headed south, settling in the Augusta area in 2007.

They loved their house and their neighborhood. They had a pool, dogs, and neighbors of all ages. But over the years, they began to look at their home — and their future — a little differently.

They could hire people to handle the landscaping and other maintenance. What they couldn’t control was what might happen five, ten or more years down the road, in terms of their health.

And they didn’t want their daughters to have to figure it out for them.

Finding Brandon Wilde

Ever the advance scout, Bill first became familiar with senior living while researching options for two older friends. He toured several communities around Augusta on their behalf, including Brandon Wilde. The experience planted a seed.

Eventually, Bill and Janet acknowledged something that he can now joke about: the communities he had been investigating for “older people” might actually make sense for them, too.

When they began seriously considering a move, Brandon Wilde stood out.

The couple particularly liked the community’s cottages. With a dog and years of living in single-family homes behind them, they weren’t ready to give up the feeling of having a house of their own.

They found a cottage overlooking the lake and moved to Brandon Wilde.

“It’s worked out fine,” Bill says.

Their cottage gives them the residential lifestyle they wanted, while their neighborhood has created a new circle of friends. Residents get together for monthly socials and potluck gatherings, and Bill and Janet take their dog, Georgie, for walks around the community and to the dog park.

Most importantly, they have the security that originally motivated their move. With a full continuum of care available onsite, Bill and Janet know they have a plan in place if their needs ever change.

More to Do Than Time to Do It

Planning for the future hasn’t meant slowing down in the present.

Quite the opposite.

Bill is a lap swimmer and regularly uses Brandon Wilde’s indoor pool and fitness center. He and Janet participate in balance classes, while Janet also practices Tai Chi. Bill belongs to a poker group that meets twice a week, and the couple recently signed up to learn Mahjong.

Then there are aqua fitness classes and social events competing for space on their calendar.

“They will wear you out on activities,” Bill laughs. “There are so many that we’ve conflicted some of ours.”

He has also experienced firsthand the benefits of having wellness and healthcare resources close to home.

After undergoing a reverse shoulder replacement, Bill began aqua physical therapy at Brandon Wilde. Within weeks, he noticed increased mobility in his shoulder beyond what he had achieved through his previous physical therapy.

He and Janet have also turned to Brandon Wilde’s Nurse Navigator for help coordinating care, from arranging testing to having bloodwork completed right at their cottage.

It’s the kind of support they hoped would be available someday when they first started thinking about senior living. What they discovered is that it can make life easier right now, too.

Ready for Whatever Comes Next

Bill spent a career anticipating what might happen next and making sure the right people and resources were in place before it did.

His journey to Brandon Wilde followed the same philosophy.

He and Janet didn’t wait until they needed help to make a move. They chose the lifestyle they wanted while they were active and independent — and made sure they would have options available should their needs ever change.

Today, their calendar is busy, their family can visit without worrying about what the future holds, and there is always another swim, poker game, class, or friendly gathering waiting for them to enjoy.

Learn More

To discover if Brandon Wilde is right for you or someone you love, schedule a tour at https://www.brandonwilde.com or call 706-868-9800.