Born and raised in Chicago, 84-year-old Joe is the epitome of a lifelong Cubs fan. As a kid, Joe and his friends would spend their summer days scouring the city collecting discarded bottles—with 25 pounds of glass they could earn the fifty cents needed to purchase a ticket in the bleachers of Wrigley Field. One day, a pretty blonde girl in Joe’s kindergarten class, Jean, caught his attention, and years later she and Joe got married. Jean’s father was a baseball player himself and Joe was always amazed by Jean’s passion for the game. She was the first girl he ever knew that loved sports as much as he did, which made him fall even more in love with her.
Throughout their lives the couple spent countless dates, casual afternoons and, later on, family outings with their kids at Wrigley field cheering on the Cubs together. Rooting for the Cubs is a family passion and Joe has taken all of his kids and grandkids to Wrigley field at least once. When Jean’s health started to decline several years ago, Joe was at her side full time and, though they still watched as many games as they could together, going to the park was no longer possible. Sadly, Jean passed away and Joe has since moved to Jacksonville, Florida to be closer to his kids. Nevertheless, he still watches every Cubs game and often stays up late into the night, never missing an inning, so that he can stay up to date with everything that is going on with the team. He is especially excited for the Cubs this season and he feels sure that this will be the year that the infamous “curse of the goat” will be broken and the Cubs will win the World Series.
Joe’s Wish of a Lifetime was to go back to Chicago and Wrigley Field one last time and spend the day with his daughter Susie so that she, too, can experience all the joy he and her mother felt at that stadium cheering for the family team. Wish of a Lifetime and Brookdale were thrilled to send Joe and Susie back to Chicago to cheer on the Cubs at the Cross Town Classic versus the White Sox. The pair got to sit right up front and Joe received a special visit from a Cubs Ambassador thanking him for being such a great fan to the team.
