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7 selections of fresh vegetables
6 selections of
fresh fruits
7 varieties of
frozen meats
5 bags of
non-perishables
1 bag of paper
products and personal care items
Gifts from a Secret Pal
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Our seniors have been through a great deal
in their long lives. They have been through wars and depressions, good times
and bad, and they all have stories they can tell about their experiences.
Many of them have been through severe traumas in their lives which have
shaped who they are and how they view the world. Your sponsored senior and
their spouse have been through a great deal together! At 87 and 74
respectively, Charles and Shirley have enjoyed 41 years of marriage, but
have many difficulties they must face each day. We are so thankful to you
for helping us to bring joy into their lives, and we wanted to share some of
this couples’ history with you.
Charles grew up in New
York but after enlisting in the Air Force was transferred to Chicago. He
served as a Colonel for several years before marrying his first wife and
getting a job working with computers. Meanwhile, Shirley lived in her home
state of Iowa where she was settled with a husband and four children. When
she heard her mother, who lived in Illinois, was on her deathbed she
convinced a friend of hers who was a pilot to fly her here so she could be
by her mother’s side. She never made it to her mother’s side, however. The
plane got stuck in bad weather and crashed to the ground. Shirley had to
pull her pilot friend out of the burning wreckage. She spent a year in an
Illinois hospital recovering from a broken back. Ironically, her sick mother
got well and wound up having to visit her instead.
During this time,
Shirley’s husband left her and remarried. Since then she has barely seen him
or their four children. She was at the lowest point of her life. When she
recovered she decided not to go back to Iowa, as nothing was left their for
her. After living in Chicago for a while, Shirley became friends with her
mother’s neighbors, who just happened to be Charles, his wife and their
child. When Charles’ wife died suddenly and tragically of congestive heart
failure, Shirley began helping him take care of his son, while Charles made
sure that Shirley’s medical needs from her crash were taken care of. After a
while, the two fell in love and have been married ever since. While it is
sad that it required two tragedies to bring them together, Charles and
Shirley have made each other truly happy over the last four decades.
Despite their happiness
together, they have had a great deal to contend with in their lives.
Shirley’s injuries kept her from being able to work too much, although she
worked part time in a packing house to help bring in money. Charles worked
with computers, but most of the jobs were short-term and low-paying and he
was never able to build up a pension. Eventually, the couples’ ever growing
health problems started becoming more and more of an issue, as well. Charles
suffers from Blespalsy which has paralyzed half of his face. He also suffers
kidney problems and diabetes and is on a pacemaker. Shirley is still on
nitroglycerin for her heart. The couples medical expenses run them hundreds
of dollars each month and they have a great deal of trouble paying it. Their
combined income is only $1,600 a month. Shirley has to drive a bus for
handicapped children part time just so they can pay the monthly mortgage of
$1,680 on their rickety, old house which Shirley says is “falling down
around them.”
When we first met Charles
and Shirley in 2001 we believed we could make a difference in their lives.
We knew we were right a year later when Shirley told us “I don’t know what
we’d do without you! You’ve done more than your share in helping us.”
Charles and Shirley love receiving monthly deliveries of non-perishables,
fresh produce, meat, paper products and personal care items. Their situation
may be dire, but we know that together we can continue to bring comfort and
solace into their lives! They like Oranges, fig Newtons and Windmill
cookies. Their income is $1,600 a month.
Things to Remember about Charles & Shirley:
• Charles’ birthday is November 27, 1916
• Shirley’s birthday is March 3, 1930
• They like oranges, fig newtons and Windmill cookies
• Their income is $1,600 a month
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