Theft of van and tools from Boyd Smith family.

My name is Karen Ellisor. My twin sister, Sharon Smith, is married to Boyd Smith of Tulsa. They live near the Rose Hill Cemetery. They have been married over 50 years since meeting as teenagers. Boyd has been undergoing treatment for the last couple of years or so for cancer. He has spent most of his life as a self employed home remodeler.  Boyd was working from a 17 year old Chevy Express van that he drives to jobs when he is able (in between his chemo and radiation treatments), trying to supplement his social security, which is his only income. Friday evening about 7pm the van was parked in front of a house near 46th and Pittsburg where his son was doing a small job. He had gone to Home Depot to get more supplies. He returned to the job site and went in the house. He went back out about 7 or 8 minutes later to get something and the van was gone. The police believe someone followed the van from Home Depot and stole it as soon as he went in the house. Inside were thousands of dollars  worth of tools he has accumulated over the years to do the jobs he does (many power tools...saws, drills, air-compressor, nail guns and nails, and every imaginable hand tool for the work he does.) They were barely surviving financially as it is, and now he has nothing to work with. He had only liability on his old van so there's no way they can replace it. They filed a police report with the officers who came out but so far nothing has been recovered.

Boyd Smith is the best person I know, or have known, in my life. There are many people who would tell you the same thing. Besides working so hard all his life, he helps countless people who need help. Family, friends, neighbors, and even strangers. He gets calls from people who need help with something in their home, day or night, and he gets up and goes to help them with the problem, no matter how tired he is, or how much pain he is in from his cancer treatments and arthritis....he gets up and goes. And if he knows they have little or no money, he usually does it anyway, for no pay. Nowhere on this earth is there a kinder, more giving person.  

He has worked through much of this pandemic (using masks and other precautions) even though he is in most of the high risk categories for Covid 19 (elderly...he's 72; immunocompromised...he has cancer and is on chemotherapy; he's diabetic and on insulin) because he has to in order to survive financially. This is so heartbreaking to those of us who know him, and we are doing all we can to help, but we don't have the means to replace all that he has lost.

We are trying to raise money to help him get another used van that he can work out of. Family and friends are gathering up any extra tools they can spare to help him replenish some of those. It seems so unfair that someone who is so good to everyone can be victimized in such an awful way. Any amount that anyone can donate to help us with this would be so appreciated!