La Feria News

Vietnam Veteran Has Wish Granted

A family wish comes true for David Guevara: (l-r) Julian Guevara, Jr.; Emma Martinez; David Guevara, wish recipient; Pete Guevara; Mary Bruno; Ofelia Garcia. Photos: Bill Keltner/LFN

Day to be long remembered

Bill Keltner

U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran David Guevara, 69, had his wish to reunite with his seven siblings who live in La Feria granted last month. It was a day to be long remembered as he, his wife, and his relatives got together last month at the Fiesta Tex Mex Restaurant in La Feria. It was the first time the family had gotten together in 14 years. The last was in 2002 during the funeral service for family member, Rita Guevara.

The family reunion in La Feria was made possible thanks to the national nonprofit Twilight Wish Foundation and its Director of Community Relations, Mary E.Ferrell. The foundation provided the funds to bring David Guevara and his wife, Mary to travel from their home in Springfield, Tennessee to spend Easter with his family. The Guevaras have not been able to afford the cost of travel to Texas since he retired in 2008.

Both David and his wife are pastors who have operated a community non-denominational public service that targets low-income families for over 30 years.

In addition, they also started a food pantry in their church. Thanks to the generosity of many donors, his wish to have a family reunion came true when the family got together for a family meal at the La Feria restaurant last month.

David and Mary Guevara.

The sponsoring association that made it possible was the Twilight Wish Foundation. This group is a national nonprofit charitable organization whose sole mission is to honor and enrich the lives of deserving elders through wish granting celebrations that connect generations. Since its founding in 2003, Twilight Wish has granted over 2,594 individual wishes to seniors throughout the U.S. Twilight Wish grants wishes to seniors who are over 68 years old and have an income of less than 200% of poverty level or who are residents of a nursing facility and cannot make their own wishes come true.

If you would like to help make a senior’s heartfelt wish or lifelong dream come true, visit www.twilightwish.org or call 215-230-8777 ext. 104.

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