As an African-American woman coming of age during World War II, Gloria H. “lost her dream” of becoming a lawyer when she was told that a black woman would never be taken seriously in that position. Instead, she dedicated her time to her job in the postal service, and to raising her younger sister Claudia, who is 23 years her junior. After she graduated and married, Gloria was determined that others in her life, especially her younger sister, would not lose their dreams. Gloria saw Claudia’s passion for healthcare and was determined that she should realize her dream of becoming a doctor. Her mentoring worked, and now Claudia is a gastroenterologist at a prestigious Chicago hospital.
Gloria has been a lifelong basketball fan, and wishes for nothing more than to see her favorite team, the Chicago Bulls, play at the United Center in Chicago. Her love of basketball began in high school. She attended one of Chicago’s first African-American Catholic private high schools, St. Elizabeth. They were known for their excellent basketball team and Gloria was proud to root for them. She later became a fan of the Bulls, and has cheered them on enthusiastically for the past 60 years. In the nineties during the Michael Jordan-led Bulls glory years, Gloria spent hours keeping a scrapbook of newspaper clippings about the team. When requesting her wish, Gloria said, “I have been praying to the Mother Mary every time I see them on TV- if only I could see a game before I die!”
Wish of a Lifetime and Brookdale granted Gloria’s wish by sending her and her friend Edie to watch the Bulls play the Atlanta Hawks on February 11th 2014. The Bulls organization generously provided a special gift bag and arranged for Gloria to meet players and management. “Gloria said she was in a dream that she hoped would never end as she attended her first Chicago Bulls game last night. Everyone was so gracious to her; anyone she came in contact with from the Bulls organization from the security ushers, to the players and management who chatted with her and took pictures with her were just really wonderful to her. She is just floating on air right now. The effort that you made in granting this wish for her surely was worth it!”, said Edie. It truly was a Wish of a Lifetime for Gloria.