LOGAN SQUARE — Madeline Dowling wanted her grandfather's 95th birthday to be extraordinary. So, the 25-year-old Logan Square resident made a simple request to her Facebook friends: brighten my grandfather's birthday by sending a card to his retirement home.
As of Monday, Beverly resident Jack Dowling, Madeline's grandfather, received 108 cards from people all over the country — plus a six-pack of beer.
"I mentioned his favorite beer is Heineken so a group of my friends in Portland sent him a six-pack," Madeline said, laughing. "That was totally above and beyond."
The card idea came to Madeline when she noticed how excited her grandfather, who was born on April 7, was to get mail.
"So, when his birthday came up, I just thought it would be cool to overwhelm him with cards," she said. "We got cards from as far as Florida, Oklahoma and New York, but most were local people."
When Jack started getting the cards, he was a little confused at first, wondering who all these people were, Madeline said.
"He was getting 20, 30 cards a day over and over," she said. "He's pretty hip and learned how to use the Internet in his 80s, so we explained what we did and it really perked him up. We read all of them to him."
Local businesses also pitched in by sending over gift cards, cupcakes and blueberry pancakes.
"Word got out and other businesses celebrated his longevity," Madeline said. "He was Mr. Popular for a couple of days."
At 95, Jack is facing health issues, but Madeline said the cards had brought new life to her grandfather.
"It seems like we've had a lot more good days health-wise and his spirits are raised," she said. "He's more upbeat which is all we can ask for."
Jack, a Chicago native, is a retired engineer who worked at the same company his entire life, Madeline said. He's a graduate of Chicago's Illinois Institute for Technology and St. Ignatius College Prep.
Madeline said she admired her grandfather and how he continued challenging himself well into his golden years.
"He's the most impressive person I know," Madeline said. "He's 95 and he's 6'8. He's a giant man. He's not afraid of anything new."
Case in point: Jack took swimming lessons in his 70s, and after his wife died in 2007, he learned how to cook.
"When I was a freshman in college, he was over at my parents' house and talking about baking pies," she said. "I asked why I haven't gotten any of these pies, and I was joking, but a few weeks later I got a strawberry rhubarb pie in the mail from him."
Madeline said her grandfather has been a special person in her life.
"He's a golfer, and he used to watch it on TV," she said. "Most people think that's boring but I found it relaxing. I used to just sit with him and watch it until I heard him snoring."
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
