Nursing home resident has dream come true on Saturday

(GREENSBURG, Ind.) – A nursing home resident had his dream come true on Saturday afternoon. 

67-year-old Gary Fry is a resident of Aspen Place and recently told the facility about an idea he had. 

He wanted to replace a small American flag outside of Aspen Place with a bigger one. 

“We just wanted to show everybody how proud we are of this country and luckily, everybody went along with it,” Fry told The 812. 

The facility decided to get a new flag and also turn the idea into a celebration for Gary. 

Aspen Place offers a program called “Live A Dream” where they encourage residents to share their bucket-list wishes and they make them come true. 

Gary wanted to have a flag retirement ceremony and he also happens to like classic cars and motorcycles. 

The nursing home organized a classic car show, flag retirement ceremony, kids activities and a patriotic brunch. 

“He really wanted things for the kids to do, so there was face painting and also the Greensburg Fire Department brought one of their fire trucks,” said executive director Alisha Miller. 

Life Enrichment Director Ashley Koontz added that the event was made possible by several staff members and residents who rallied their family and friends to bring their cars and bikes to the nursing home.

The residents had the opportunity to see the classic cars, motorcycles and enjoyed a nice lunch. 

Aspen Place had a surprise in store for Gary. They gave him a motorcycle ride! 

It was a day that Gary will not soon forget and he had great things to say about Aspen Place. 

“There are just a lot of good people here. I’ve never felt that feeling that I am alone here. I’ve been to a few other facilities and Aspen out does them all. They don’t have employees here, they are more like family,” Gary said. 

The “Live A Dream” event came one day after the nursing home went under a precautionary evacuation due to a gas leak. They provided a statement expressing gratitude yesterday.

This article features photos that were all taken and provided by Lindsay DeBolt: