14-donna.jpg
A Life-Long Wish
June 29, 2016 07:49 PM | Football
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Close your eyes and allow yourself to daydream of your happy place.
Are you there? Good!
Can you feel the sun shine on your face in your happy place? Can you picture a sea of gold and blue before you and sense the adrenaline rush of impending kick off? Most importantly – can you hear the roar of “Let’s Go, Mountaineers!” chants?
For many West Virginia University Mountaineer fans, their happy place is Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium. Such is the case for one special, lifelong WVU football fan – Donna Tucker.
A native of Charleston, West Virginia, Ms. Tucker, 79, was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer just last week. Ms. Tucker’s family immediately rallied behind their beloved “Memaw,” and began a mission to fulfill one of her final wishes – to attend one more WVU football game in Morgantown.
“She has been a lifelong Mountaineer fan, and she mentioned that she wanted to make it to one last game,” Ms. Tucker’s granddaughter, Heather Gunter, said. “When she was discharged (from the hospital), she was given six to eight weeks to live. We knew it would not be possible for her to make it to another game.”
With time not on the family’s side, Gunter made a plea on Facebook to get her Memaw to Mountaineer Field. Today, just eight days after her post went viral, Ms. Tucker and her family took a picture on the Flying WV that resides on the 50-yard line at Milan Puskar Stadium.
Years stand between Ms. Tucker and her last visit to the Stadium, and today, she and her family skipped their usual Blue Lot tailgate in favor of a personal tour of the Puskar Center, courtesy of several Mountaineer student-athletes and coaches. There, she was outfitted in Mountaineer gear, given Flying WV cookies, a special game day delicacy, and enjoyed a meet-and-greet and private video viewing with the Mountaineers, including redshirt-seniors Tyler Orlosky and Noble Nwachukwu.
“It’s an honor to know that today’s visit is the last thing Ms. Tucker wants to do, and we can be a part of it,” Nwachukwu said. “It’s very humbling.”
“Today just shows you how great this state is,” Orlosky added. “It’s been an honor for us to meet with her. I’m sure everyone else in the state of West Virginia is just like her – a Mountaineer through-and-through. Fans like this are why we came to WVU. This all puts life in perspective. Making a life-long dream come true is very special.”
The family then made its way down onto the field, where Ms. Tucker was met with a personal greeting on the video and ribbon boards. And, just like any crisp, beautiful fall Saturday in Morgantown, cheers of “Let’s Go, Mountaineers!” rung out loudly today at MPS.
“I think today shows that Mountaineer fans truly care about our team and players,” Robert Glowacky, assistant director of football operations, said. "I don’t know if today offers them (the family) any consolation because they are still losing someone they love, but I think it helps them to see that she is happy. She is living out the wish that she really wanted, and we wanted for the family to have the chance to remember Ms. Tucker happy on the field.”
“I never made it to a game with Memaw, so today is really special,” Gunter shared. “This is very humbling, and I appreciate everyone coming together and making this possible.”
Nate Gabriel | April 8
Wednesday, April 08
Coach Rod West | April 8
Wednesday, April 08
Coach Rich Rodriguez | April 8
Wednesday, April 08
Ryan Ward | April 6
Monday, April 06
