Caring Corvettes fulfill car-loving hospice patient's wish to see sports cars, once more

SCHUYLKILL HAVEN — Former Pottsville Fire Chief Todd March gladly complied with a special request and revved up his Corvette Stingray on Wednesday outside Rosewood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

It was, March said, the least he could do to fulfill a request from a terminally ill resident of the center’s hospice unit.

Seated nearby in a wheelchair, the resident’s face lit up as the vroom of the Vette’s 460-horsepower engine echoed across the center’s parking lot on a hill above Penn State Schuylkill campus.

“Nice car,” proclaimed the resident, a 70-year-old Pottsville man, whose name is being withheld at the request of his family.

Though cognitive limitations prevented him from ever driving a car, he harbored a lifelong love affair with the American automobile — Corvettes, in particular.

His sister, Mary Ellen (Brown) Leskin, said he was a regular at the Great Pottsville Cruise and visited Jerry’s Classic Cars & Collectibles. He had many car books and was an avid collector of Matchbox toy cars.

“He even knew about car engines,” said Leskin, of Pottsville. “He’d always say, ‘I want to see more cars.’ ”

Michael Melnic, administrator, said it is Rosewood’s policy to fulfill the wishes of residents, where possible.

Compassus Hospice Care offers services to residents of Rosewood, Melnic said.

“We get to know the person, where they come from, what their life story is,“ said Danielle Duncan, a coordinator at the Compassus office in Hamburg,

Duncan and Lisa March, a Compassus nurse at Rosewood, worked to fulfill the resident’s request to see sports cars.

The daughter-in-law of Todd March, president of the Schuylkill Valley Corvette Club, Lisa March asked if the club could do a drive-by.

At 1 p.m. Wednesday, an entourage of eight Corvettes made its way up the hill to the site of the former Rest Haven, the county’s home for the aged.

Instead of a drive-by, the sports cars parked and their drivers mingled with a dozen or so residents who got to see some fancy cars and soak up a little sun.

In a kind of Corvette history, the cars ranged from a 1961 Corvette owned by John Bosche, of Schuylkill Haven, to a 2024 mid-engined Corvette owned by John Maskerines, of Pottsville.

Maskerines, who is retired from Penske Truck Leasing, said the Corvette’s 495-horsepower engine can propel the car to a top speed of 190 mph — though he’s never pushed it to the limit.

Onlookers, including the guest of honor, seemed more interested in the car’s retractable hardtop that tucked away into a compartment behind the driver.

Bob and Debbie Madrigal, of Schuylkill Haven, arrived in their stunning red 1964 Stingray, one of the line’s most iconic models.

Madrigal did a complete restoration, he said, and had the car repainted Cadillac Infrared.

March, Pottsville’s fire chief for 42 years, put a vanity plate with “FireVette” on his torch-red 2019 Corvette, a C-7 model.

“We are happy to have done this Make-a-Wish type event,” said March, 79, who retired six years ago. “It was good for everybody. It brought everybody out.”

Mary Alice Leskin, who was accompanied by her husband Robert “Oscar” Leskin, credited Lisa March’s ability as a caregiver.

“As his nurse, Lisa has a way of working with him,” she said of her brother. “She’s amazing.”

Wheeling him among sports cars, one more appealing than the other, Leskin said her brother’s initial reaction was, “Wow, where did they all come from?”

Reflecting on the event, she couldn’t quite put her feelings into words.

“OMG, I think he was shocked,” she said. “His wish was fulfilled, and he was thrilled.”

(Updated to Duncan's position.)