August 14, 2025

'Elvis' and EveryStep Social Worker Make Dreams Come True

MONTROSE, IOWA  --  This week marks the 48th anniversary of the passing of rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley.  But Elvis’ spirit was alive and well a few weeks ago for Jean Holmes, a dementia patient being cared for by EveryStep’s hospice team in southeast Iowa. 

On Saturday, July 26th, Elvis was in the building for Jean and her fellow residents at a care facility in the tiny town of Montrose on the banks of the Mississippi River – courtesy of local Elvis impersonator, Junior Talley. 

It all started with Jean’s hospice social worker – Katie Smith from the EveryStep office in Mount Pleasant. 

“Every time that I visit Jean, despite her dementia progression, she still always responded very well to Elvis music,” says Katie, “I would play her music from YouTube on my phone and she would sing and dance.”   

Katie helped supply Jean a CD player and some Elvis albums as well, but she wanted to do something bigger.  “I thought - ‘You know, she loves Elvis so much … I wonder if we could do a performance by an Elvis impersonator?” 

Katie says Jean was lukewarm to the idea at first, until she saw a video of Junior in action.  Jean immediately changed her mind and started to get really excited – so excited that it amazed caregivers and family. 

“I guess she’d been talking about it for days,” says Katie, “For her to remember that with her dementia is pretty amazing.  She was looking forward to it enough that it stuck in her head that he was coming.” 

“She was all smiles, all day,” says Jean’s daughter, Lori Barlow, “She's not been able to put together three or four words that make a lot of sense - but she looked at me and she pointed to Elvis and she said ‘I've always dreamt of meeting Elvis and now my dream has come true.’” 

When showtime arrived, Jean was ready.  “Before they even started ... she kind of raised one hand in the air and says: ‘OK, everybody ... woo-hoo!’,” says Lori, “It was pretty cool.” 

When Elvis (Junior) took the took the stage, Jean was transported to back in time to a Las Vegas showroom.   

“I saw her singing along with almost every song that he sang during the performance,” says Katie, “She just always had an amazing smile on her face.  She was singing, she was dancing.” 

“There is a video of him singing ‘Teddy Bear’ and giving her a teddy bear and she didn’t want to let go when he reached out and touched her hand,” says Katie.  “She grabbed his hand and in the video it shows him trying to pull away a couple times and so finally was able to get away from her,” Lori added. 

“It was amazing!  The staff members from the nursing facility were just in tears by how much she was enjoying it,” says Katie, “The Elvis impersonator performed in the main part of the facility so the staff and patients and community members came in to enjoy it.” 

Lori says the day gave her and her husband something they didn’t think they’d ever have again.  “There's not a lot of joy left in her life so this was something that was super special to her and to us as well,” she says, “it definitely created memories that you didn't think you would have any more of.” 

“I can’t give enough kudos to Katie,” Lori says, “She just really put it all together and it was. It was just great."