Veteran Sells Everything He Owns So He Can Afford To Pay His Own Funeral
Death is something that not any of us are ready to face. But for some, they only wish that when the time comes, they will have a decent funeral to put their body to rest. This veteran decided to do everything he could to make this happen.
Going to a yard sale will not always change your life. But it did for three people in Johnstown, Pennsylvania…
When Ed Sheets and David Dunkleberger went to see what a Navy veteran had in his yard sale, they didn’t know that they would discover something heartbreaking. On the other hand, the kindness of strangers like Dunkleberger and Sheets may have helped a dying man find peace.
As they were talking, the veteran, Willie Davis, shared: “If you know anyone else who might be interested I’m looking to sell all my stuff so I can pay for a funeral”
They asked, “Whose”
Davis then said, “Mine.”
There is a reason why Davis is preparing for his funeral. A late-stage squamous cell cancer has been discovered in 66-year-old Vietnam War veteran and Navy sailor Jacklyn L. Davis, who served from 1970 to 1976.
It wasn’t that he was afraid of his illness, but the fact that he couldn’t sell his goods on the weekends made him nervous if he would be staying in the hospital for an extended amount of time. All he wanted was for his final resting place to be in Culpepper, Virginia, near his parents.
“I’m really going to miss life because of people like that”
After hearing Davis’s story, Sheet was heartbroken and felt driven to do something about it. He said, “He has already done enough to serve the country, so we just wanted to return the favor to him so that at least, his last days can be a little less hectic and more peaceful for him.”
To help cover Davis’s burial expenses, the two guys set up a fundraising website. They hoped to raise $5,000. The page stated: “We have all thought our lives were bad, and we are going through some rough times. But imagine having to worry about being able to sell all your belongings just before you die, just so you will be able to get buried next to your parents”
They considered funerals might need more than that. So they increased the goal to $15,000. They didn’t realize that the online supporter they will receive for this fundraising effort will be able to reach that goal quickly.
Their efforts have raised $27,000 in just a short period of time!
And now, the goal was changed to $40,000. And in accordance with Davis’s wishes, any money that will not be used for the funeral will be donated to charity to help struggling veterans like him.
Talking to the Tribune Democrat, David shared how much help he had gotten, and he said, “I honestly never expected that someone would come along like this. The guys went way beyond what I ever expected”
He adds, “These people are willing to help anyone. I’m really going to miss life because of people like that”
Squamous cell carcinoma, a common kind of skin cancer, claims the lives of 15,000 Americans each year. As for Davis, he knows that his condition was incurable and all he wanted to do was to be able to pay for his funeral. But generous hearts did more than that, thanks to the efforts of total strangers turned friends, Ed Sheets and David Dunkleberge.
