Riverside Retiree Saves Lives from Cancer and Provides Comfort from the Driver's Seat by Katherine Row - City News Group, Inc.
View Upcoming Events View Your Local Sales

Community Calendar

◄ OCTOBER ►
S M T W T F S
27 28 29 30 01 02 03
04 05 06 07 08 09 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24
25 26 27 28 29 30 31
View Events
Submit Events

Riverside Retiree Saves Lives from Cancer and Provides Comfort from the Driver's Seat

By Katherine Row,
May 21, 2014 at 03:51pm. Views: 82

George Read, 80, of Riverside, was more surprised than anyone when presented with the American Cancer Society 2013 Spirit Award. As a Road to Recovery volunteer who drives cancer patients to treatment two to four times a week, Read is just doing what he loves with the same energy and resilience that marked his 53-year teaching career and his own bout with cancer. Lack of transportation is a major obstacle to cancer patients completing treatment. With treatment lasting months and sometimes years, family and friends often can’t drive their loved ones, who may be too ill to drive themselves or take public transportation. The American Cancer Society’s Road to Recovery program is a lifeline to those patients, but many more IE drivers are needed. A month after retiring from a 34-year career as a vocational education teacher at Ramona High School Read went back to teaching part time for another 19 years, helping countless scores of adults earn full high school diplomas. “Just before I retired the second time I saw an ad for the American Cancer Society,” Read says. “I was looking for something to do and as a cancer survivor volunteering came naturally.” So less than a year after his December 2011 prostate cancer diagnosis Read became a Road to Recovery volunteer, driving cancer patients from Beaumont, Bloomington, Corona, Hemet, Moreno Valley, Murrieta, Ontario, Pomona, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Upland to treatment, sometimes as far away as City of Hope. Each of the 110 rides he provided in 2013 averaged 70 miles, a journey he mostly makes in his 2013 Ford Escape. “But if I get a really hip young person sometimes I’ll take the Mustang,” Read confides. “It’s a pretty jazzy yellow convertible with a white top. It’s really good for patients. And the patients are really good for him. He says he’s never heard a single “poor me.” He and his patients often develop close relationships even though he may drive them only a few times. “When I tell them I’m a survivor they want to talk. I don’t think they have a chance to talk to too many people who understand what they’ve been through.” Those relationships surpass age and language. Read’s closet patient friendship was with a monolingual Chinese couple whom he drove from San Bernardino to Loma Linda six or seven times. “The wife was the patient and the husband accompanied her,” Read said. “They’d buy me lunch at the hospital cafeteria. “It’s a great feeling. I really get jazzed about it and drive as much as my coordinator will let me,” he says. ”I don’t want to burn you out,” his coordinator, Dwayne Zappe, also a volunteer, tells him. Read drives his patients both to and from treatment and waits at the facility in between. An avid reader and outdoorsman, he often settles under a tree with his iPad. If the patient is receiving chemotherapy, which takes longer, he goes to lunch and might run a few errands. Read’s energetic volunteer schedule doesn’t impinge on his equally energetic leisure time. He and his wife of 58 years, Norma, take eight weeks’ vacation each year. “We’re not rocking the chair too much and we don’t want to be,” he explains. “It’s too easy to sit in the recliner.” The couple often trailers their boat or wave runner to Lake Havasu and they travel to Oregon a couple times a year. Summers include a cross country trip to New England, the mid-Atlantic or Appalachia. At home, Read flies remote control airplanes, maintains 1.5 acres of landscaping and is an accomplished scroll saw woodworker. “But I have a real passion for driving patients,” he says. “We have so many patients we can’t fulfill the ride requests each week. I’d like to see more drivers.” The American Cancer Society needs many more IE volunteer drivers age 18 – 82 with an insured vehicle in working order. Volunteers are needed for as little as two hours a month. For more information about how to volunteer visit cancer.org or call 800-234-2345 24/7.

Related Articles

Colton Mayor Frank Navarro Seeks Reelection With Focus on Completing Major Projects
Photo Courtesy of: coltonca.gov

By Margie Miller, Publisher City News Group

October 28, 2026 at 06:00am. Views: 603

One of the most visible projects Navarro wants to advance is the city’s planned sports complex. He lists its development among his major accomplishments and says residents should evaluate another term partly by whether the city breaks ground and completes project phases. Read more about Mayor Frank Navarro...

The Truth About Measure “N”
Photo Courtesy of: Grand Terrace City Council

By Doug Wilson, Councilmember, Contributing Writer

October 28, 2026 at 06:05am. Views: 569

Councilman Doug Wilson, serving Grand Terrace since 2014 Speaks out about why he feels Grand Terrace residents deserve to know the facts about Measure “N,” the proposed one-percent sales tax initiative on the ballot this November 3rd.

The CARE Project and LympheDIVAS Provide Nearly $100,000 to Breast Cancer Survivors
Photo Courtesy of: The CARE Project inc.

By Carl M. Dameron, Contributing Writer

October 20, 2026 at 03:09pm. Views: 833

Photo caption: The CARE Project’s Vice President, Diana Jaurigue, with President & Founder Carrie Madrid, who is wearing the LympheDIVAS compression sleeve on her left arm. Donated compression garments help manage swelling and are essential to daily care for many breast cancer survivors.

ALDI Packs Over 1,300 Boxes of Disaster Relief with FARSB

Photo Courtesy of: Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino

By Rachel Bonilla, Community Writer

October 27, 2026 at 02:37pm. Views: 337

Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino (FARSB) has once again partnered with ALDI for their annual volunteer event, where team members packed over 1,300 food boxes with various shelf-stable items to be distributed for disaster relief as needed.

Could a Handful of Walnuts Improve Your Health? Loma Linda Researchers Discover a Promising Connection
Photo Courtesy of: CIty News Group

By Ruby Stephenson, Community Writer

October 20, 2026 at 04:11pm. Views: 2039

An October 2026 study from Loma Linda University suggests a simple dietary change may influence inflammation-related measures in older adults. A bowl of walnuts sits alongside a nutritious breakfast, illustrating the everyday dietary choice examined in Loma Linda University research.

Grand Terrace Prepares for Halloween with October 31 Trunk or Treat Celebration
Photo Courtesy of: AI-generated by ChatGPT

By Stella Pierce, Community Writer

October 28, 2026 at 06:00am. Views: 374

Families enjoy a Halloween trunk-or-treat gathering with decorated vehicles, pumpkins and festive costumes. Grand Terrace has scheduled its 2026 Trunk or Treat celebration for October 31

 From Childhood Hardship to City Leadership:  John Echevarria Seeks Colton Mayor's Office
Photo Courtesy of: coltonca.gov

By Margie Miller, Publisher City News Group

October 28, 2026 at 06:00am. Views: 720

Colton councilmember John Echevarria wants to expand his outreach to residents throughout the city, strengthen partnerships with county, state and federal officials, and build upon what he describes as a record of employee advocacy, neighborhood improvements and community involvement.Learn more about John Echevarria...

A New Home for Children's Healthcare: Loma Linda Unveils Five-Story Specialty Clinics
Photo Courtesy of: City News Group - AI Illustration

By Hattie Strong, Community Writer

October 27, 2026 at 02:38pm. Views: 320

Loma Linda University Children's Health Specialty Clinics, a new five-story, 105,000-square-foot facility designed to bring more than 21 pediatric specialties together. The facility is expected to begin serving patients in early 2027.This is an AI-generated illustration, not a verified photograph of the actual building.

Grand Terrace Shares Food Preservation Information as Families Look for Ways to Reduce Waste
Photo Courtesy of: https://wellri.com

By Stella Pierce, Community Writer

October 27, 2026 at 02:38pm. Views: 286

An October City announcement draws attention to an everyday household practice with benefits for food budgets, kitchen safety and the environment. A basket of fresh produce can represent a week's worth of meals, the results of a successful backyard harvest or an unexpected bargain at the grocery store. Yet without proper storage, even the freshest fruits and vegetables can spoil before a family has an opportunity to use them.

License Plate Reader Technology Helps Detectives Solve Grand Terrace Residential Burglary Case
Photo Courtesy of: City News Group - AI Illustration

By Ruby Stephenson, Community Writer

October 27, 2026 at 02:38pm. Views: 489

An October announcement highlights how investigative technology and cooperation among law enforcement agencies can help solve crimes affecting Grand Terrace neighborhoods. For residents of Grand Terrace, home is more than an address. It is where families gather, children grow up and neighbors build relationships over many years. When a residential burglary occurs, the effects can extend beyond the property taken or damage caused. A crime inside someone's home can undermine the sense of security that makes a neighborhood feel safe.

Grand Terrace's AB 98 Truck Route Study Raises Questions About Traffic, Safety and Neighborhood Quality of Life
Photo Courtesy of: City News Group - AI Illustration

By Amanda Spencer, Community Writer

October 27, 2026 at 02:38pm. Views: 287

The rumble of a commercial truck passing through a city can represent two very different things. For a business awaiting a delivery, it may signal the arrival of essential supplies. For residents living near a busy roadway, it may raise concerns about traffic, noise and safety. In Grand Terrace, finding a reasonable balance between those interests is at the center of an ongoing transportation planning effort.

Grand Terrace Opens 24-Hour Ballot Drop Box as November Election Approaches
Photo Courtesy of: City News Group

By Amanda Spencer, Community Writer

October 20, 2026 at 03:49pm. Views: 728

Secure drop box is located outside the Grand Terrace Library, on the west end of the Civic Center building at 22795 Barton Road. According to the City, it will remain accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3. The San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters is responsible for operating the box, collecting ballots and transporting them for election processing.

--> -->