When
Adele
Lester sent her 23-year-old son, Specialist
Walter
Lester, off to war, she hoped it wouldn’t be the last time she
would see him. Her worst nightmare nearly came true, though, when she received
a call that Walter was involved in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan. He
was seriously injured but was the only one of his five-member company to
survive.
The soldier’s
mother, a 50-year old Ellenwood, Ga., resident, now spends her time traveling
back and forth from her home in Atlanta to Washington, D.C.’s Walter Reed Army
Medical Center.
“Ms. Lester
has spent so much time taking care of others that she hasn’t had a chance to
take care of the little things around the house,” says
Angie
Hicks, founder of Angie’s List. “That’s where the Wishmakers
program and its group of highly rated service professionals step in to help
those in need.”
Nick
Marine, owner of Marietta, Ga.-based
Marine
Plumbing and a certified GreenPlumber, jumped at the chance to help a wounded
warrior. Marine, a retired U.S. Navy Senior Chief, agreed to donate his
services to replace Lester’s kitchen sink and install a garbage disposal, a
small luxury she has never had.
“There was
never a question in my mind as to whether or not I was going to help out,”
Marine says. “I’m always privileged to help those in need.”
|
|
| The
professionals who donated their time to fix up Adele Lester’s kitchen were all
veterans. Pictured are (from left to right): Tony Little; Adele and her
grandson; Adam Rotter; Tony Blanca; and Nick Marine. |
|
To complete the job, Marine
called in reinforcements from American Standard, which donated the sink and
fixtures, and InSinkErator, which provided the garbage disposal.
“The best
part is making life a little easier for Adele during this most trying time,” says
American Standard CEO
Don Devine. “We are thankful
for her son’s service to our nation.”
Adele Lester’s
caretaking didn’t stop with her own children. Her mother and disabled brother
currently live with her, and she recently made room in her home for Walter
Lester’s two small children, a toddler and an infant. She is now the guardian
of the children so her daughter-in-law can be by Walter’s side.
“Adele has always put
others’ needs ahead of her own,”
Vicki Lester
wrote when she nominated her sister for the
Angie’s
List Wishmakers program. “As a single woman, she adopted three teenage boys,
including Walter, from Atlanta’s foster-care system. She is always the first
to help when it is needed. She does it with a smile on her face and never
expects anything in return.”
Since 2004,
Angie’s List, a provider of consumer ratings on local service companies, has
partnered with its service providers to grant wishes across the country. Nominations
are accepted via e-mail at
WishmakersRequests@angieslist.com.
