Chris' Wish

In February, 1979, 7-year-old Christopher Greicius was diagnosed with leukemia. Chris and his mother Linda were living in Scottsdale, Arizona where he developed a close friendship with a family friend who was also a US Customs Agent, Tommy Austin.

Chris loved playing policeman and wanted to catch the bad guys. Tommy would play the bad guy and Chris would chase him on his battery-powered, three-wheeled motorcycle, always catching him and making the arrest.

When Chris was hospitalized, knowing how he loved to play policeman, Austin spoke with Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) Officer Ron Cox and they put together a plan to make Chris' wish come true.

Lt. Col. Dick Schaefer gave Chris a ranger's hat and one of his own old badges. He also swore Chris in as Arizona's first and only honorary DPS officer. They gave him a helicopter tour of Phoenix and he "drove" a police car.

The officers had an official police uniform created for Chris. They delivered the uniform to Chris at the hospital on May 1, and he wore it with much delight.

Realizing Chris' joy at receiving his wish, his mother Linda worked with others to start a wish-granting organization. By January 1981, the Greicius Make-A-Wish Memorial was founded by Chris' mom Linda Pauling, Tommy Austin, Frank Shankwitz, and Scott Stahl. The non-profit memorial later became the Make-A-Wish Foundation. And thanks to people like you, Make-A-Wish has grown to be what it is today, granting thousands of wishes for children all around the country.