Wish Stories
We’ve granted over 3,300 wishes
Jimbo visits the National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force
91-year-old Jimbo Wandless, of Broadway, VA, proudly wears his Air Force hat in honor of his service and his Air Force crew during WWII. At 18 years old in 1943, Jimbo enlisted in the Air Force. During WWII, he served in the Eighth Air Force as a staff sergeant and a...
Jim Goes Hang Gliding
Jim Willis, age 87, a cancer survivor and great-grandfather of 20, is a Brookdale resident at Freedom Village at Bradenton in Florida. Over a decade ago, Jim had the opportunity to go hang gliding, but his flight was cancelled due...
Betty Receives Autographed Tom Selleck Photos
Betty H., 86, from Brookdale Pikesville in Baltimore, MD, collected autographs as a child. As a girl, Betty would wait outside of the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore and get autographs from the actors and actresses as they left. As an adult, Betty became a big fan of...
Ida’s Grandson Visits From Hawaii
For Ida Mae G., age 99, of Roanoke, VA, family means everything. Growing up on a ranch in North Dakota, Ida Mae was born to a mother who was Sioux Native American and an English father. Because of her heritage, she was placed into an Indian School. Though native...
Norman Hears his Favorite Willie Nelson Tunes
74 year-old Norman, a resident of Brookdale Boynton Beach, claims that Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again” is the theme song to his life. His Wish of a Lifetime was to have a band come to his community so that he could enjoy the songs of his favorite musician with his...
Barbara Attends Shen Yun, a Colorful Asian Production
Barbara M., 87, of Brookdale Cortona Park in Brentwood, CA, reminisces about her time in Japan where she and her husband, who both served in the Navy, were stationed in the 1960’s. At 87 years old, Barbara still thinks about her time living abroad. Her Wish of a...
June’s Special Dinner
June, 85, from Appleton, Wisconsin, is described by those who look after her as a very compassionate woman. Unfortunately, for the past 18-20 years she's been bound to a motorized scooter due to spinal and muscular problems, and has endured difficulties due to her...
David has a Classical Concert in his Community
102-year-old David was born in Philadelphia in 1915. His father was from Poland and his mother from Russia. They immigrated in the late 1800s and met each other in a horse blanket factory. It was truly a hardscrabble life for the family as immigrants, and David’s life...
Dora has a Circus in her Community
Dora is an 87-year-old resident of Brookdale Weddington Park in Matthews, North Carolina. Her Wish of a Lifetime was to have a circus brought to her community. Dora has been living at Brookdale Weddington Park for several years now, and she was always known to play...
Gene Reunites With His Brother, Sherwin
Eugene Tycher, age 80, of Colorado Springs and his younger brother, Sherwin Tycher, age 67 of Chicago, IL have spent far too many years apart. The Tycher brothers long to reconnect again after 22 long years without seeing each other. Early in his career, Gene moved to...
Edsel Returns to a Farm
Edsel, 90, from Brookdale Fond du Lac in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was born into a farming family. He has been working on a farm ever since he could walk. Edsel’s parents ran a small, 160 acre dairy farm. By the age of 7, Edsel was hand milking the cows. When Edsel’s...
Flo Celebrates her 91st Birthday in Canada
As the mother figure of her nine siblings and as a mother of two children, family means the world to Flo, 90, of Stoughton, WI. Flo, her son Terry, and daughter Sharon, have always been a close, tight-knit family. Sharon lives close to Flo and often visits her mother....
Louise, 94, Attends Her First Dallas Cowboys Game
“I’ve been a Cowboys fan all my life,” said Louise of Brookdale Waxahachie in Waxahachie, TX, “I’m 94 and I’ve never been to a Cowboys game.” More than anything, Louise’s Wish of a Lifetime is attend a Dallas Cowboys game for the first time! Louise lived her life...
Ernest final painting class
Ernest, 72, from Brookdale Inver Grove Heights in Minneapolis, Minnesota, spent 6 years in the Military reserve waiting anxiously, ready and willing to serve his country. After spending many years on reserve and never having been deployed overseas, Ernest ended his...
Wylie Attends a Dallas Cowboys Game
Wylie, 80, of Dallas, Texas, is by far the biggest Dallas Cowboys fan in his community, Brookdale Preston, and has been since he was young. The Dallas Cowboys have been a constant presence in Wylie’s life—from the decorations in his room to his clothes, what he...
