Medical Companion Embraces Bridge

Tina was Bob Campbell's caregiver at the Reutlinger's, a senior living facility near Blackhawk in Danville.. When Bob died the family decided to keep Tina as a companion for Jan, who now lives there. 

The whole family loves Tina, who is from Nigeria.They tried to teach her how to play bridge and she has taken a few lessons from Katherine Loh at Rossmoor. She accompanied Jan to San Francisco to play in the Nationals with her son -in-law, Brian. Tina decided to go to the partnership desk and look for a partner. She is the bravest person I know. She played every day that Jan and Brian played. She usually played in the 299er game but one day played in the 750 game.

Below is an article that appeared in the Daily Bulletin from the San Francisco Nationals about Tina Smith

JUST FOR NEW PLAYERS (from the San Francisco Nationals Daily Bulletin) Tina Smith is a medical companion. Her client, Janet Campbell, is eighty-nine, and has been playing bridge since she was eight. 

“Her whole family plays bridge,” said Tina. 

They encouraged Tina to take some classes and learn how to play, and Janet teaches her too. They told her about the recent National Tournament and that there were classes and seminars there. Tina went to play on both weekends. 

“Bridge is motivational,” said Tina. “It activates numbers in your mind. Your memory is working, as you play, and your eyes have to keep up with what’s going on. It’s giving me a lot of morale boosting. I love it.”

Lilah Newton