04/24/2026
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At 92 years old, Jack Gleason walks into Silver Cross Hospital with the same steady purpose he’s carried his entire life. He’s been volunteering here since June 9, 2021, and every shift begins the same way: a smile, a vest and a quiet readiness to help whoever walks through the door. Jack works the main information desk, the beating heart of the hospital’s comings and goings.
Four days a week—Wednesday mornings, and Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings—he settles into his post for a four-hour shift. He greets visitors, checks them in and out, escorts them to appointments, and fetches wheelchairs with a speed that once prompted a coworker to call out, “No running in the hall!” A lifelong “people person,” Jack spent his career in retail, running liquor stores and working as a wholesale liquor salesman before retiring in 1995. Staying active has always been his secret. Even now, he still drives (he recently made it halfway to Missouri) and volunteers not only at Silver Cross but also five hours each week at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery as an Honor Squad Leader. He also lectors at his church a couple times each month.
His guiding principle is one he learned as a boy: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. It’s why he greets every visitor with a smile and a hello. His advice to anyone considering volunteering: “If you’re tired of sitting at home, come out here and help. There’s always something to be done. I wouldn’t trade this time for anything, except getting married and raising my kids.”
“Jack is more than a volunteer. He’s a steady presence, a warm welcome, a reminder that kindness doesn’t age. He still moves with the energy of someone who believes every day is worth showing up for. And four days a week, he does just that,” said Laura Valencik, Director of Volunteer and Guest Services.
Learn more about the Volunteer Program at Silver Cross Hospital here: https://www.silvercross.org/giving/ways-to-give/volunteer/
