Iowa City Hospice Walk for Dignity video
2011 Walk for Dignity
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More than 1,000 walkers (and dogs) participated in 12th Annual Iowa City Hospice Walk for Dignity on Sunday, April 17, at Willow Creek Park, Iowa City.
More than $100,000 was raised by an army of great supporters! Check out the 2011 Walk for Dignity team totals or top 25 individual results.
Iowa City Hospice thanks everyone who worked so hard to make the 2011 Walk a great success, especially this year's honorary family, The Alberhaskys.
2011 Honorary Family: John and Erma Alberhasky
Anyone who has lived in the Iowa City area for any length of time is familiar with John’s Grocery, the mom and pop establishment that has been a fixture on the city’s north side since 1948. John Alberhasky, the store’s founder, and his wife, Erma, along with generations of Alberhasky children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren, made John’s Grocery into the iconic local favorite it is today. 
The John and Erma Alberhasky Family are serving as the 2011 Iowa City Hospice Walk for Dignity Honorary Family. John died on October 14, 2010, of prostate cancer; Erma died just three weeks later, on November 8, 2010, following a stroke. Both Alberhaskys used the services of Iowa City Hospice.
“They were fun people,” recalls daughter-in-law Linda Alberhasky. “The more the merrier, they thought.” Son Ron Alberhasky adds, “They both made friends easily.”
John and Erma met at a school dance: They had gone to the dance with other dates, but left that evening each having found the love of their lives. They married on December 31, 1940. In 1942, John joined the Navy. While stationed in Hawaii, John helped boost troop morale by putting on USO-style shows.
After returning home from WWII, John was tending bar at his brother’s bar when he was offered an opportunity to buy the corner market that became John’s Grocery. “He was very entrepreneurial,” Ron explains. “They taught us to work hard, but they played hard, too. They were just good examples on how to live your life.”
They continued to enjoy an active life during their two years residing in an assisted living setting at Iowa City’s Legacy Pointe.
When John was no longer able to walk, the family called in Iowa City Hospice. “It was a no-brainer,” says Ron.
Perhaps the greatest value of John and Erma’s involvement with Iowa City Hospice was, says Ron, the fact that Iowa City Hospice was able to follow them through various living arrangements. From assisted living, to respite care at Mercy Hospital, to nursing and rehab care at Lantern Park, to Ron and Linda’s home, Iowa City Hospice was able to provide continuity of care.
“Iowa City Hospice was just a phone call away,” says Linda. “They also dealt directly with the doctors, which was helpful. And they prepared us for John and Erma’s deaths. They told us what to expect.” “They give you a lot of support,” Ron adds.
With Iowa City Hospice’s help, Erma was able to stay at Ron and Linda’s Iowa City home the last few days of her life. “Everybody was here a lot,” Linda says. “The family could come and go and be in a home setting.”
Shortly before Erma’s death, Linda recalls, “She called everyone over and told them she loved them.
It was the only time she had spoken since the stroke.”
The Alberhasky family says that agreeing to be this year’s Walk for Dignity Honorary Family “wasn’t a hard decision.”
“Iowa City Hospice is a great organization,” Lora says. “And anyway, Alberhaskys are terrible about saying ‘no’,” she laughs.
2012 Walk For Dignity
The Iowa City Hospice
13th Annual Walk for Dignity
Sunday, April 22, 2012, 1:00 p.m.
Willow Creek Park in Iowa City
(Route Map)
Donation drop-off starts at 11:00 a.m. Fun activities begin at noon.
The Walk for Dignity is a community event that gives friends
and families an opportunity to celebrate the lives and honor the
memories of their loved ones, and show support for Iowa City Hospice.
The best part is that 100% of the donations support Iowa City Hospice.
We’re encouraging everyone to walk individually or form teams and join us to walk in support of Iowa City Hospice. Choose the more challenging 3-mile course or the less hilly 1-mile course. We know that everyone walking with us has been impacted in some way by hospice care, whether in our seven-county service area or another community.
Email or call us at 319-688-4213 or 800-897-3052 to get more information, form a team (set up online Fundraising page), collect donations, online giving, and Walk for Iowa City Hospice.