It was a simple birthday wish for a woman who has lived a simple life.

Lucille Wagner will turn 96 at the end of the month.

Wagner lives at Flanagan Rehabilitation and Health Care and has been under hospice care for four months.

So, as part of a wish provided by Compassus hospice, Wagner simply wanted to have lunch — specifically, a shrimp basket — with her sister, Anna Marie Reutter, 93, of Roanoke, at the Dairy Queen in El Paso.

On Monday, the nursing home, the hospice provider, and DQ worked together to make Lucille’s wish come true.

The last time the two saw each other was three weeks ago, but since Lucille moved to El Paso “a long time ago,” they have made sure to spend as much time together as they could.

“I’m thankful that I still have a sister, because we’re the last two left of a family of 10,” Anna Marie said as she settled into her seat and waited for her sister to arrive. “I guess we’re just going have a nice visit.”

The sisters and their family grew up in Cissna Park, and Anna Marie and her husband formerly owned a television business and often went to Peoria to purchase TVs and other appliances.

“On the way we would always stop at Lucille’s and she would invariably cook a meal for us,” Anne Marie said. “She cooked a lot of meals for us.”

Kara Smith, director of clinical services for Compassus, said Lucille and Anna Marie often met at the DQ for lunch, and added although shrimp is no longer on the menu at the restaurant, DQ management said they would “make it happen.”

“This was one of their favorite places to come to meet together,” Smith said.

Virg Black, of Streator, is the director of nursing at Flanagan Rehabilitation. She was surprised Lucille chose DQ for her wish, but after thinking about it, it made sense.

“I was a little surprised. I thought they would go to some fancy restaurant,” Black said. “And when she found out she was going to DQ, she was so excited. She’s not stopped talking about this since she found out.”

When Lucille arrived, she and her sister exchanged hugs and prayed before they ate their shrimp, French fries and strawberry shakes.

“I thought they were playi582a7452ebb95-imageng a little trick on me,” Lucille, said about the plot. “My birthday is the day after Thanksgiving. I guess you could call it a birthday dinner.”

SOURCE: http://www.mywebtimes.com/news/local/birthday-wishes-sisters-meet-for-visit/article_83969472-a73d-546d-b8a9-ee08a979699b.html