An Alaska Airlines pilot and his wife spent Christmas reuniting a homeless woman with her family more than 3,700-miles away.
Fred and Mary Ripp read about a woman named Virginia Cook in the Anchorage Daily News, and decided to do what they could to help the 76-year-old in the spirit of the holiday season.
After reaching out to her and her family, the pair were able to help Cook get ready and outfitted for a long flight to Tuscon, Arizona, to reunite with family members she hadn’t seen in 10 years.
Fred and Mary Ripp read about a woman named Virginia Cook in the Anchorage Daily News , and decided to do what they could to help the 76-year-old in the spirit of the holiday season
After reaching out to her and her family, the pair were able to help Cook get ready and outfitted for a long flight to Tuscon, Arizona, to reunite with family members she hadn’t seen in 10 years. Fred and Mary are pictured watching Cook get onto her flight
Cook was released from Alaksa Psychiatric on the day before Thanksgiving and put into a cab to the Brother Francis Shelter.
She had a state guardian and some money in her bank account, but was left otherwise on the streets and dealing with serious health problems.
Cook told the Daily News she spent each morning having a coffee at Bean’s Cafe in Anchorage.
After reading about her, Fred said he realized he’d been focused on the wrong things in life.
‘We had been working for the last year remodeling our kitchen,’ he said.
‘I’ve been spending time thinking about relative merits of granite and quartz counter tops. Then you read an article about this and realize you’ve been thinking about the wrong things.’
Cook was released from Alaksa Psychiatric on the day before Thanksgiving and put into a cab to the Brother Francis Shelter. She had a state guardian and some money in her bank account, but was left otherwise on the streets and dealing with serious health problems
After reading about her, Fred said he realized he’d been focused on the wrong things in life, and decided to reach out to see how he could help get her home
So he contacted the Daily News reporter Charles Wohlforth and said that he was a pilot, asking if he could take her anywhere using his travel benefits.
Wohlforth then put the sister in contact with Cook’s sister in Tuscon, Darlyne Gallway.
‘I believe we are going to have my sister’s plane fare covered,’ she wrote the couple in an email.
‘But she may need help getting to the airport, checking in and boarding her flight. Her guardian in Alaska has not been helpful with this.’
The couple then met with Cook, and they quickly became good friends.
‘Time spent with Virginia has pulled me out of my usual winter funk and has brought me great joy,’ Frank wrote in an email to Gallway.
‘This is shaping up to be a great Christmas!’
On Tuesday, December 19, Fred picked Cook up and they got her ready to head to Arizona.
During the time together Cook told Fred about her past, explaining that she was at Alaska Psychiatric receiving treatment for bipolar disorder, which she said includes episodes of disruptive outbursts.
Fred and Mary also helped Cook pack for her trip because her health condition makes it difficult for her to move or stand for long. Mary then helped Cook get $100 from her state guardian, with which she bought a meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken and then have her hair and nails done. Mary is pictured between two other passengers on her flight out of Alaska
The Ripps drove Cook to the airport and helped her get on the plane. Fred also contacted people he knew on the flight, and they were able to waive her baggage fees
Her sisters decided in 2007 that she’d become too difficult to manage without professional help after she continually resisted her daughter’s care and was kicked out of multiple assisted living facilities.
But Fred said that now, Virginia is ‘100 percent lucid, friendly, witty, interesting.’
‘At the end of the day she said, “It’s been fun hanging out with you.” The feeling was mutual,’ Fred wrote in an email to her sisters.
‘Virginia was not at all the person I expected. She was delightful. I am happy she is headed to a better life in a warmer climate and closer to people who care about her.’
Fred and Mary also helped Cook pack for her trip because her health condition makes it difficult for her to move or stand for long.
Mary then helped Cook get $100 from her state guardian, with which she bought a meal at Kentucky Fried Chicken and then have her hair and nails done.
On Christmas morning a shelter staffer helped Cook wake up and get ready for her flight to Arizona.
The Ripps and their daughter then drove her to the airport and helped her get to her gate.
Ahead of time Fred had contacted the people he knew working on her flight, and Alaska Airlines waived her baggage fees.