Wish Stories

Irv Frankil, 86, of Voorhees, NJ is known as the nation’s “sports aficionado” within his Brookdale community. Throughout his life, Irv has seen legends of all kinds, including a home run hit by Babe Ruth. He not only watched, but also played every sport he could in...

John has been an avid golf enthusiast for many years. After retirement, John had dreams of opening a bed and breakfast and spending his days golfing with his wife and friends in Cripple Creek, CO. Unfortunately, a few years after retirement, John suffered a stroke...

Chuck Ebaugh, 79, of Brookdale Mt. Lebanon in Pittsburg, PA, is a resilient gentleman with a positive outlook on life. Chuck spent his young teenage days building soap box derbies and raced them. His Wish of a Lifetime was to attend the Soap Box Derby Championships...

Eddie, 90, from the Emeritus of Oakridge in Stevens Point, Wisc. believes that a passion for planes has always been in his blood. Eddie has been a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) for many years, reading their magazines and keeping up with current...

Elleen C., 94, was born and raised in Colorado and still calls it home. Elleen’s Wish of a Lifetime was to get back up in an 18-wheeler. She had not been up in the cab of a semi in over 40 years. Elleen got married at a young age to her high school sweetheart who was...

Bill, age 77, grew up in Chicago with his long-time childhood sweetheart and later wife, Yvonne. William’s wife passed away in 2001 and he hasn’t visited their old neighborhood for many years. His Wish of a Lifetime is to go home and visit his wife’s grave and the...

Shirley P, age 90, grew up on the water. At age 9, she fell in love with boating while at summer camp learning how to canoe. It wasn't long before she was a camp counselor sharing her love for the water with others. A child of the depression, she learned to appreciate...

Gordon, 75, was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Gordon's passion for design and engineering began when he took on the position of the Editor for Chicago’s Building, Design, and Construction Magazine in the early 1970's. Gordon served in this role for 32 years;...

Florence M, 91, of Sterling House of Deptford in New Jersey, loves dancing. She started going to dance halls when she was 14 years old, and fell in love with it. Since Florence still finds so much joy in dancing, her Wish is to experience a social ballroom dance event...

Donna W., 87, is a current resident at the Sterling House of Lancaster in Lancaster, Ohio. Donna remembers riding around town in her brother's beautiful ModelT Ford Sunday afternoons during her childhood, often accompanying her brother to the grocery store or...

Donald Williams, 71, of Washington, D.C. has always been very passionate about the community in which he was born and raised, DC, as well as our country. He served a full term of 6 years in the Army Reserve during the Vietnam War. Along with loving this amazing...

Diana, 72, has always had an appreciation and love for animals. Diana first became passionate about animals due to her husband, but soon she too shared a deep admiration for the wolf in particular. Since the 1970’s, Diana and her husband collected wolf figurines and...

Pat Farmer, 78, has always been a caring and compassionate individual. Currently residing at the Clare Bridge of Fort Collins in Colorado, she is always the first to volunteer to help with any tasks the staff may need help with. Pat’s Wish of a Lifetime is to have the...

Annette K. is an 88-year-old resident of Brookdale North Boynton Beach in Florida. Annette has always loved magic and her wish was to have a magician come to her community to astound her and the other residents with amazing feats and illusions! Annette has never seen...

Stanley Allen, 69, from Muskegon, MI, was born with Cerebral Palsy. Through all the challenges that Stanley has been faced with throughout his life, he remains a happy-go-lucky guy. Up until his mother’s passing in 2011, he did not really interact with society. His...