A 97-year-old woman's wish to don the cheer uniform she helped create and put on one more performance was fulfilled when her alma mater's cheerleading squad visited her Michigan nursing home last week.
Ilagene Doehring was one of the first members of Merrill High School's cheer squad in 1945, WNEM reported.
When she told her caretakers at Candlestone Assisted Living in Midland, Michigan, her story and wish to wear the uniform one more time, they took to social media to connect with the high school's current cheer coach, Jena Glazier.
Glazier and her cheerleading team then surprised Doehring with a uniform and the opportunity to perform a few cheers—and stunts.
"She said, 'Lift up,' and we're like, 'Really?' And she went, 'Yeah.' She got right up there and stood right up, and it was awesome," Glazier told WNEM.
Although Doehring said she was "embarrassed of all the attention" she received while performing at her nursing home, she also had a lot of fun.
"I guess I'm famous now," she added.
The cheer pioneer also reminded Glazier that it was she who forged the path for all the cheerleaders who came after her.
"When I left, she said, 'Without me, you wouldn't have Merrill cheer,'" Glazier told WNEM. "And I just thought on that, and I'm just so grateful for her because I know what it probably took to get that started, and she's allowed me to come in after her -- a foundation that she built and her and her girls, they built this program -- and I get to come in behind her and mentor girls all the time because of that."
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