Thursday, March 26, 2026
Terminally ill man looks use final wish on chosen family

By Hansen Hasenberg
hansen@navarrepress.com

Jeffrey Bearce, a retired police officer from Maine, is spending his final months with family, including children he isn’t related to by blood.

Bearce, first diagnosed with cancer in 2009, plans a special spring vacation at Navarre Beach with three children he considers the grandchildren he never had.

“We have two sons, 40 and 44, they have no children, but with (my wife’s) daycare, we have kind of adopted three kids,” Bearce said. “There are two eight-year-old twins and their 12-year-old brother.”

The boys are Carter, 12, and Asher and Dawson, both eight. Bearce said he and his wife, Joanna, have spent weekdays and weekends caring for the children, buying school clothes, attending sports events, going fishing and taking part in other activities. They also serve as the children’s emergency contacts.

Mark Mansfield, the father of the boys, described Bearce and his wife as part of the family.

“They love my kids, they spoil them,” Mansfield said. “They are pretty much their grandparents.”

Bearce has battled serious health issues for most of the boys’ lives. Over the past 17 years, he has faced three battles with cancer, a fall that fractured vertebrae in his back, surgery to remove part of his intestine, a tumor on his pancreas, and a bone marrow transplant that led to graft-versus-host disease. He sees doctors several times a week and has periodically traveled to New Orleans for treatment.

“They have grown up with Jeffrey and are aware of the cancer, treatments and everything else,” Mansfield said. “They are with him every day from May through October. I am not kidding when I say he is family to these kids.”

Joanna Bearce said the children can tell when Jeffrey is having a bad day and have been attentive to his needs. Jeffrey said he wants to see them at least one last time.

“The dream is to have them flown out here; they’ve never been anywhere in their lives,” he said.

Jayson, Bearce’s son, said the children are excited to try foods like gator bites, which they don’t have in Maine. Jeffrey and Joanna live part of the year in Navarre with Jayson and his wife and usually spend summers in Waterville, Maine.

Dream Foundation

The family is planning the trip with assistance from the Dream Foundation, a nonprofit that grants terminally ill adults’ final wishes. Founded in 1994, the organization has fulfilled more than 36,000 dreams, ranging from meeting celebrities to receiving new beds, according to Dani Cordaro, a foundation representative.

Bearce became involved with the foundation through medical staff at a treatment center in Maine. His request to have the children visit

Navarre this spring was recently approved. The foundation provides financial support based on available funding, and Bearce, who has limited income due to his health, has been arranging hotel accommodations.

“I really want to see those guys, have some fun with them and I want them to be able to enjoy,” he said.

Mansfield said the boys are looking forward to the trip and the opportunity to make a lasting memory.

“This is going to be really hard for my kids; it’s basically to go say goodbye,” Mansfield said. “He called me and said, ‘I want to see your kids one more time,’ and it was really hard. As a father and someone who cares about them, it’s a tough thing. This is the last memory.”

Jeffrey Bearce with Carter, Asher and Dawson, who he considers to be part of his family although not related.