90-year-old woman in hospice care receives dying wish: ice cream

George and Norma Pearlman have been committed to each other for 67 years — and have been committed to their home almost as long. The couple decided they wanted to stay in their Williamsville, New York, house as long as they can. 

“If we’re going to pass on, we pass on right in the house we love, the area we love and with our family,” George told WIVB.

90-year-old Norma is now receiving hospice care from home. She may be confined there, but she still craves a sweet treat. “Every night I say, ‘I want ice cream before I go to bed,'” Norma said.

It is Norma’s dying wish to go to an ice cream shop, but she can’t leave her house. So, the couple’s son-in-law, Paul Kramer, came up with a plan to bring the ice cream store to their home.

The couple enjoyed free ice cream with their friends and neighbors to celebrate George’s 91st birthday and to satiate Norma’s craving. WIVB

“Maybe I can find an ice cream truck who could come by and bring the ice cream store to Norma,” Kramer said. “So, I called Sweet Melody’s and told them that not only is this one of Norma’s wishes and she’s no longer able to leave the house, but it’s George’s 91st birthday today.”

The local ice cream shop didn’t hesitate to say yes. 

On July 18, George’s 91st birthday, Sweet Melody’s sent an ice cream truck to the couple’s driveway. Norma, George and their family got to order ice cream from the truck free of charge. 

George and Norma’s son-in-law came up with the plan, and Sweet Melody’s ice cream shop was on board. WIVB

Norma ordered both chocolate and coffee ice cream: one in a sugar cone and one in a dish. “Now I’m sure she’s not going to have dinner. So, who cares,” George said.

It may have been his 91st birthday, but George felt like a kid again. “I remember the ice cream wagons that came up at that age and this makes me feel much, much younger,” he said.

Sweet Melody’s owner, Chuck Incorvia, said giving out the ice cream was worth it. “This is what makes our job the best in the world, watching people smile,” Incorvia told WIVB. 

After the family and their neighbors enjoyed some ice cream, they went inside to finish the birthday festivities. Norma’s sweet craving was finally fulfilled on her husband’s birthday — and they didn’t even have to leave their front yard.