SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Inside Make-A-Wish Arizona in Scottsdale, Linda Pauling is helping put the finishing touches on displays. She shows off handprints pressed onto paper in blue paint by a young boy, a “Happy Mother’s Day” written on white paper in young handwriting, and a uniform preserved in cabinetry bearing her son's name.
“There's no one founder of Make-A-Wish, if you want a founder,” Pauling said pointing to a blown-up portrait of her son, Chris Greicius, on the wall. “Right here.”
Pauling is making way for something that has been missing: A bronze statue of Greicius that was stolen from Make-A-Wish’s national headquarters near Highland and State Route 51.
The statue sat in front of the offices and was stolen in January 2023. It was recovered in pieces.
“It took Phoenix police one week to catch the guy,” Pauling said. “And it was phenomenal. It was so quick.”
The statue depicts Greicius, who Pauling said loved cop shows and police toys, as he got his wish in the final days he was battling Leukemia.
Chris was diagnosed with Leukemia at 4 years old-- back in the 1980s when a diagnosis like that was more serious. His parents were told he wouldn't make it, so they decided to grant him a wish for something he loved, something he always wanted to be: A policeman.
Greicius was given a real DPS uniform, pinned with a DPS badge, and taken for a ride in Ranger 28.
He died when he was 7 years old.
The statue outside of Make-a-Wish America's offices in Phoenix depicted Greicius dressed as a DPS patrolman.
“He lived to be a cop,” Pauling said. “And if he’d grown up, he would have been a U.S. Customs Agent or Highway Patrol.”
Greicius’ likeness for the original bronze statue was captured by sculptor Tom White from Prescott Valley.
“Just seemed like this cute little kid that wanted something so bad and they made it come true,” White said.
White, who still has the original clay sculpture, and the mold to cast the bronze statue, was able to have the statue recast so it could be replaced following the theft.
The statue is newly formed in bronze ready to be installed Tuesday inside Make-A-Wish Arizona.
“It means a lot and the statue represents that,” Pauling said. “Because Chris, his wish, has paved the way for all the others.”
The pieces are being brought back together to continue a tradition that started years ago.
“Every time I would go to national I would take Chris a red rose,” Pauling said. “I’ve got a vase all set up here now and I will bring him a dozen red roses.”
Friday will mark 44 years since Greicius’ death. In the years since, hundreds of thousands of children have been granted wishes worldwide.
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