Meet Jill Houser

We recently connected with Jill Houser and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jill, really happy you were able to join us today and we’re looking forward to sharing your story and insights with our readers. Let’s start with the heart of it all – purpose. How did you find your purpose?

That’s a tricky question. As a young person, many of my friends knew exactly what they wanted their career to look like when they grew up. Is that their purpose in life? I am not sure. We may be good at something and then choose a path that helps us succeed. It’s a complicated question.
My path was different. I was more like a golden retriever with her head out the window, enjoying each part of the ride. I have loved every bit of being a wife to my husband of 35 years and mother to my two children (now adults) and have found great pleasure in watching their lives unfold.
My career has also greatly satisfied me through the nonprofit and government sectors, mainly in social services and helping others.
I have also been a caregiver to both my parents as they aged and ultimately passed away in my arms.
I have found a purpose in most of the decades of my life, each painted with a different brushstroke, perhaps a little different from the one before but with its unique beauty.
Finding purpose takes being present in everyday life.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

I was born into a three-generational family. When my father passed away, my husband and I invited my mother to live with us so we could raise our children in a three-generational family as well.

My mother, Rosemary, was an active and vibrant part of the family for many years. Then, after the children grew up and Rosemary started to age, life became more difficult. She fell and broke her hip, was legally blind, and was beginning to feel the effects of aging on her body. She needed more care than I could provide working full-time, so in 2018, I decided to retire at 58 and care for my mother full-time in our home.
I watched firsthand her world start to shrink, and she viewed things from a wheelchair or through a car window.
I wanted more for the final season of her life.
I saw a front-passenger bike on the internet, and it intrigued me. Oh, the places I could go with my mom and me together! But then I saw the price: upwards of $8,000 plus European shipping. I kept scrolling. Later that night, I showed my husband, who said, “Let’s figure out how to make one.”
And so, we did.
We found an old cargo bike on Craigslist, put in a floor and a well-padded seat, and presented it to my mom for her 92nd birthday.
What happened next was magical.
Rosemary’s world opened up. We rode that bike daily for miles and miles, and she would wave to cars and people, creating a ripple of joy throughout the community.
Word spread about our funny-looking bike, and the local TV station featured us on Sunday night. The story went nationwide, changing our world.
We received hundreds of requests for help from other families to make bikes for their elderly family members or children with disabilities.
A few months later, we started an all-volunteer nonprofit out of our garage to help as many families as possible. The mission was to provide AFFORDABLE (at the most $1599, but many times less) passenger bikes for families with loved ones struggling with age, disability, and other barriers to riding a bike themselves. Rosemary named the bike THE BLESSING BIKE because it was a blessing, opened her world, and created joy.
It was a labor of love among family, friends, and neighbors. The list of people who requested bikes far exceeded our capability. Still, we tried to focus on one family at a time.
In 2021, my husband Wade was diagnosed with Multiple myeloma and had a stem cell transplant in the fall. During the same period, my mother, Rosemary, also started to decline, and our rides were getting shorter and closer to home.
In January 2022, Rosemary passed away at the age of 95. We rode the bike together just a few days before she died. Throughout 2022 and 2023, we continued building bikes to honor Rosemary.
In late 2023, we realized that our physical bodies and obligations could not sustain continuing to build these bikes in our garage long-term. We tried to find another nonprofit to take over operations but couldn’t. With heavy hearts, we closed The Blessing Bike in December 2023 after it had operated since 2018 and helped 144 families in 22 states.
Just a few months later, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and had a double mastectomy. The decision to close the blessing bike was even more evident now that we both needed to concentrate on our health. We knew we had decided to close the Blessing Bike for the right reasons, but our hearts were still heavy.
You see, it’s not just a bike. It’s a way for caregivers and those they love with barriers to experience their community together, create joy, and make new and lasting memories together.
We are grateful we were able to help 144 families, but when we closed, there were more than 1,000 pending requests and inquiries from people we could not help.
We hope and pray that a nonprofit with hearts to help will one day pick up where we left off with the Blessing Bike.
I will always be grateful for each of the 3,000 miles I traveled on my bike with my mom, Rosemary.
The Blessing Bike was the wheels that moved her soul during her final season of life, and mine too.
What a gift.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

In my life, I have found that the most essential qualities or skills that have had the greatest impact are pretty easy to implement.
Being gentle with ourselves is critical. I spent many formative years comparing myself to others, not feeling smart enough, driven enough, pretty enough, and so on.
As I age, I realize none of those things matter. Intellectual ability does not always equate to success, nor does determination or appearance.
What matters is our hearts. Learn to love yourself exactly who you are.
Secondly, never look past another human being. Everyone deserves to be seen and heard. In today’s world, so many barriers prevent us from being present. Make every effort to see the humanity in all people, even the stinkers.
And lastly, just because it hasn’t been done, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done! Create something new. Don’t be afraid to try. If you see a need, dive in and help. The Blessing Bike resulted from seeing a need, diving in, and doing it. We started The Blessing Bike with a personal credit card, and I took an online class on how to start a nonprofit. The rest was history. You have what it takes; don’t wait for someone to permit you to try.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

I realize I have been a caregiver in some way most of my life, but being a caregiver to my spouse has been the most challenging journey.
And I know I have failed miserably at times.
Being a caregiver and being a spouse is very different.
There were moments during Wade’s transplant and treatments when I forgot to be Wade’s wife, and I regret that. I went with him to every appointment. I took copious notes. I ordered his medications, I made him nutritious foods, and I rallied the troops to help support him, but emotionally, I was not present.
And I know he feels the same.
During my mastectomy, Wade cared for me for a solid week, and all my medical and physical needs were met. But I needed more. I needed my spouse; I needed to be held. I needed to cry. I need to feel all the things cancer does to our emotions and bodies.
I realized I had done the same thing to Wade.
When faced with adversity, it is easy to compartmentalize our feelings to cope with the tasks ahead.
But are you feeling? That’s a different story.
My challenge is to slow down and feel. Caring for someone should not be task oriented. It should be heart motivated. I must remind myself to stop protecting my heart from what could be and stay in the moment.
And it’s okay to cry together.

Contact Info:

• Website: the
• Facebook: the blessing bike
• Other: A few years ago, MAKING GOOD (a nationwide show highlighting non profits) created an episode about The Blessing BIke. Here is a link https://www.byutv.org/7025384d-4431-4a60-8ec6-36d821a059ff/making-good-blessing-bike