A labor of love: Ministry that grants wishes coming to an end

For the past 11½ years, Bob Haverstick, left, has used his non-profit organization, Never Too Late, to grant 2,250 wishes for senior citizens. In this 2008 photo, he poses with Margaret (Gintert) Trout, one of the senior citizens that he helped, and Leo Hine, a supporter of Never Too Late. (Submitted photo)

By John Shaughnessy

With every wish that he has made possible—and there have been more than 2,200 of them—Bob Haverstick has experienced the magical joy that comes from helping someone live a dream.

He knew that feeling when he fulfilled the unusual wish that an 88-year-old husband and his 81-year-old wife had to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary—by jumping out of an airplane and skydiving from 12,500 feet.

“I said, ‘You’re crazy,’ and she said, ‘My son said that, too,’ ” says Haverstick, a winner of a 2002 Spirit of Service Award from Catholic Charities Indianapolis. “But we made it happen for them. I just loved that wish.”

Joy also fills Haverstick when he recalls the 2005 wish of Bobby Shults, a World War II veteran who wanted to sail again on a Navy vessel. The challenge was that Shults had Alzheimer’s disease, and he was in a nursing home. So his son, Jon, escorted him onto the ship in Norfolk, Va.

“As Bobby came aboard, Jon is holding onto his dad,” Haverstick says. “When he’s walking up the gangplank, everyone salutes him. And they give him a jacket and a hat with his name on them. Jon said that after that, his father was all over the ship like he was 19 again. Jon couldn’t believe how his father had been transformed—that he got to see him the way he once was. Jon said it was something he would never forget.”

A labor of love comes to an end

The memories come rushing back to Haverstick, executive director of Never Too Late, an Indianapolis nonprofit organization dedicated to making dreams come true for senior citizens.

After 11½ years and 2,250 granted wishes, the 63-year-old Indianapolis resident has decided to end his all-volunteer program.

The program never charged for a wish to come true, and Haverstick never took pay for his efforts. Donations from individuals, businesses and foundations were always directed to turning an elderly person’s dream into a reality.

Haverstick often worked with the Senior Companion program of Catholic Charities Indianapolis, a program that helps low-income elderly and homebound people maintain their independent living.

“He’s just been our angel,” says Ellen Brown, senior service director for Catholic Charities Indianapolis. “He understands that as we all age, you never outgrow your desire for your dreams—things you would love to do, but you never had the means to do.

“He’s done so many good things. He reunited people with their families. When people are low income, they keep in touch with their family, but they don’t have the means to visit. He made that happen, and it meant so much to people. He’s always felt for the older population. He won’t take the credit, but he inspired people to give. He made other people understand how important it is to help. He’s a remarkable guy.”

Now Haverstick’s labor of love will come to an end on June 30.

“In the last year or so, I could see the handwriting on the wall,” he says. “There was the perception that what we were doing was nice, but there were so many other things going on with people facing tough times just trying to make it. People needed basics. Then there were the natural disasters both in this country and in other parts of the world. Discretionary income for what we do dried up. So it seemed like a natural evolutionary thing to let it go.”

Haverstick’s sense of resignation is tempered by a feeling of fulfillment.

“The Old Testament presses home the point that there is an appointed time and season for everything—that there is a time for every delightful moment under heaven,” he notes. “No man has been happier in his mission than I have this past decade.”

Much of that happiness stemmed from the emotional and spiritual impact of many of the dreams that he made possible.

One of the most poignant wishes that Haverstick granted involved an Indiana woman named Emma. In her 80s, she wanted to return to her hometown in Michigan one more time, a place she hadn’t visited in nearly 30 years. She wanted to see her sister, visit friends, tour the town and stop by the gravesites of her parents.

“She did it all, and on the way back home, she told the people in the car with her that it was one of the best weekends [that] she ever had,” Haverstick recalls. “A little while later, she died while she was still in the car on the way home.”

‘God was there with his hand on this’

The dreams could be as grand as an Army veteran of World War II—a survivor of the D-Day invasion of 1944—wanting to return to Normandy, France, to pay his respects to his fellow soldiers who died there.

The dreams could also be as simple as an 82-year old retired farmer living in a nursing home wanting to visit a farm and drive a tractor one more time.

“I’ve especially enjoyed the wishes that show the indomitable spirit of people,” Haverstick says. “We’ve touched a lot of lives. It’s humbled me.”

Never Too Late also saved him during one of the toughest periods of his life.

Recalling the years 1997 through 2000, Haverstick describes that period as “my spiritual wasteland.” During that time, his wife, Cathy, asked him what he would like to do if he could make it happen.

That conversation led to Never Too Late. He chose the name for the program after he read a story about a man in his 70s who was training to run a marathon. In the story, the runner was asked, “Why are you doing this at your age?” The runner said, “It’s never too late to pursue your passion, to follow your dream.”

Following his dream has led Haverstick on a journey that he never expected.

“Early on, I didn’t see this as a ministry,” he says. “I saw it as a way to make people feel good. But as time went on, I realized that God was there with his hand on this. I’ve learned more to look up and say, ‘Thank you, Lord.’ It’s made me more thankful for the little things and the kindred spirits who wanted to help with a wish. It’s made me feel more humble before God. He manages to take my actions and channel them toward good.”

The man who has made so many wishes come true for others has a wish for himself.

“The last 11½ years have taught me that it’s definitely worthwhile to be of service to others,” he says. “I hope God can still use me to make a difference, whether it’s big or small.” †