For 60 years, Ardys Malesker dreamed of riding in a pink convertible. With six months to live, she got her wish.

The 69-year-old Winona grandmother is dying of pancreatic cancer. Her family knew when she was 9 years old, she asked Santa for a ride in a pink convertible. But she never got one.

That’s until the other day, when Malesker’s daughter arranged for the owner of Winona’s Valley Motors to swing by Ardys’s house in his pink 1955 Ford Sunliner convertible.

“Who wants to go for a ride?” he asked her.

Tom Thorson took Malesker for a long drive. They swung by the Lakeview Drive Inn, where they sipped root beer. He drove by the levee, Lake Winona and Prairie Island.

Malesker said it was a warm reminder of how much her family loves her — and a fun ride.