Dying Vietnam Vet Sells His Belongings in Yard Sale To Pay for Own Funeral

Oct 04, 2018 by apost team

A man facing terminal illness finds hope and his remaining days with the help of a stranger.

A couple of friends were rummaging through yard sales in Brownstone, Pennsylvania earlier this year. David Dunkelberger and Edward Sheets noticed an elderly gentleman at a garage sale that they went to.

apost.com

They went and spoke with the man, and were blown away by what they heard. Willie Davis was selling everything that he had in order to raise enough money to pay for his own funeral. So the two friends decided to start a GoFundMe campaign to help him through these hard times.

Dunkelberger recalled there was a little bit of everything at the man's yard sale. He mentioned buying a few items before he actually spoke with the owner. When he went to give him money for the things that he picked up the man asked if he would spread the word and let people know the terrible situation that he was facing.

Dunkelberger said,“He told me he had stage 4 cancer and will not live much longer. He then said he plans to sell every weekend and hopes to not have stays in the hospital so he can sell his stuff.”

The man told Dunkelberger that he was going to sell everything that he had to pay his burial expenses.

Willie Davis was 66 years old and had been diagnosed with stage 4 squamous cell carcinoma. He also served in the United States Navy from 1970 to 1976 as a dedicated and honorable American.

He wanted to get up enough money on his own to be buried in Culpeper, Virginia, alongside his beloved parents who passed away many years ago. He couldn't stand the thought of leaving his three sisters with the burden of paying for his funeral expenses.

It must have been rough to go through all of his worldly possessions while facing such a terrible future. He is very lucky to have met such upstanding citizens that offered their help. It's wonderful to see such true kindness in action.

Davis met later with Dunkelberger and told him all the details of the situation. They decided together that a fundraiser might be the answer to his problems.

The fundraiser states that 100 percent of all the funds raised will pay the cost of having Davis transported and buried alongside his parents’ graves. One of David's sisters will be in charge of the arrangements when the time comes.

His sister spoke publicly saying,“After Willie passes away, the funds will be withdrawn in my name and a check will be distributed to the funeral home for 100% of the donations towards his funeral costs. If we have money left over, the remainder will go towards helping another veteran in need.”

They have since reached their goal of $40,000 and on on their way to doubling that original goal.

Do you know anyone who's ever faced such a terrible burden? Let your friends know that a small act of kindness goes a long way by showing them this article.