On The Road Again
A 75-year-old Glenwood man is getting around town again thanks to the generosity of dozens of local residents who contributed donations to help buy him a new motorized wheelchair.
Terry Eaton, 75, and his 8-year-old Miniature Pinscher, Pinky, have become familiar faces on Town Square, cruising together in a motorized chair and stopping at some of the businesses to chat with employees and patrons. In August, however, his 15-year-old chair broke down and Eaton determined it would be too costly to fix. He hoped to find a reasonably-priced replacement chair.
“The electrical components conked out and it was going to be too expensive to fix,” Eaton said. “I can’t get around without a chair. I can’t stand on my own. I have a walker but I can’t go too far – my legs give out.”
Eaton has a weak heart and spinal condition that makes it difficult to keep his balance. He also suffers from diabetes. His power chair is his lifeline to the world.
“People had seen me and my little dog (Pinky) everywhere. That’s what I do since I can’t do anything else. We run around town visiting with people,” he said. “When my chair broke down, people noticed we weren’t around. Evidently, we were more popular than we thought we were. They asked me on Facebook why they hadn’t seen me uptown anymore. I told them what was going on and said I hoped to get a used one when I can afford it.”
That’s when Whitney (Fada) Kretz stepped up. She was familiar with Eaton and his dog but had never met him. She was moved by his Facebook post and started a gofundme page online in hopes of raising enough money to buy him a new chair.
“I have never met Terry, but he is a huge positive influence in our town of Glenwood,” she said on the page, noting that everyone needs interaction with others.
The response to her gofundme page was immediate and overwhelming. The nearly $5,000 needed to purchase a new chair was raised in less than 48 hours.
“People were so generous,” Kretz said.
Eaton said he is touched by the kindness and generosity of so many people he’s never met.
“What I want to get out in the newspaper is to tell people how much I appreciate it,” he said. “This is a rare thing for me. I’m usually on the other end helping raise money. To have people help me who I don’t even know is unbelievable.”
Eaton, who celebrated his birthday on Aug. 25, said in addition to the chair, he received over 400 birthday greetings and well wishes on Facebook from residents throughout the Glenwood community. He added that he’s extremely grateful to Kretz for helping him get the new chair. The two finally met when she stopped by to visit Terry and his wife Ruth at their home on Sept. 2.
“I call her my angel,” he said.
Eaton said his new Jazzy power chair is top of the line and he’s received many compliments on it as he’s made his way around town to show his appreciation for the community support. He senses that people are happy to see both he and Pinky getting around town again.
“People just love her (Pinky),” he said. “We got her when she was a puppy and she became a companion to me.”
Eaton is a Tabor native. He and Ruth lived in Glenwood many years ago when he worked for the county engineer’s office doing survey and drafting work and she was an employee at the Glenwood State Hospital-School (now Glenwood Resource Center). They retired in Missouri but moved back to Glenwood in 2020 to be closer to family.
“My wife has nine brothers and sisters and they live in this area,” he said. “They thought they were going to have to put me in assisted living. Her family, two of them, are retired from GRC and they pitched in to help take care of me and do things. That’s the main reason we’re in Glenwood.”