Help Joe Bills Save His Family Home
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You may know Joe Bills, Jr. as a good friend always willing to lend a helping hand. You may know him as a former sports reporter, a magazine editor, or the owner of Escape Hatch Books in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, constantly working long hours and investing in our community's vitality. But you may also know him as someone who has inherited his late father's debts, is trying to keep several businesses afloat, and urgently needs the kind of support he has given to many of us through the years.
Joe’s father, Joseph Bills, Sr., was a hard-working, hard-living man, with a passion for work and family. Whether he was working as a carpenter or running his trucking company, Bills and Sons Transportation, he never complained about long hours, financial challenges, or health problems.
On July 6, 2016, he was covering for one of his Fed-Ex drivers when he passed out behind the wheel, was thrown from his vehicle, and died in the crash. Doctors were unable to find the medical cause for the incident. His sudden death was a shock to his co-workers and family, most especially his two sons Joe Jr. and Fred, and his granddaughter Katrina.
Unfortunately, he died without a will and left behind many debts that his son Joe has been tirelessly working to untangle and rectify.
(Joe and his parents, Linda and Joseph Sr., in happier days before Linda's illness)
Joseph Sr. was one of the most generous men I’ve ever met, sometimes to a fault. He often declined help, preferring to offer it to others instead. He served in Vietnam as an Airborne Ranger, and came home badly injured. When those injuries flared up again in later years, he steadfastly refused the help of the VA. He always felt that there was someone else who needed that help more, opting instead to pay for his medical care through hard work and determination. When his wife Linda was diagnosed with myelofibrosis and suffered a long, difficult illness, he was beside her every step of the way, taking her to the hospital and doing his best to sort out the astronomical medical bills.
His son, Joe Bills, Jr., takes after him in both determination, work ethic. When I suggested a fundraiser after his father’s death, Joe would not hear of it. Instead, he waded fearlessly into the financial mess left behind by his father, juggling his full-time job at a magazine, his work as a comic book shop owner, and suddenly also running his father’s trucking company. But sheer effort and long hours cannot magically fix financial chaos or save a family home of nearly 40 years.
I have started this fundraiser for my dear friend Joe, and also as a tribute to Joseph Sr., because Joe has wielded super-human strength the past three years, giving his time, health, money, and energy in an effort to save his father’s business, to make sure his employees are taken care of, to avoid losing the family house, and to help both his brother and niece. This fundraiser is my holiday gift to them.
Joe’s father, Joseph Bills, Sr., was a hard-working, hard-living man, with a passion for work and family. Whether he was working as a carpenter or running his trucking company, Bills and Sons Transportation, he never complained about long hours, financial challenges, or health problems.
On July 6, 2016, he was covering for one of his Fed-Ex drivers when he passed out behind the wheel, was thrown from his vehicle, and died in the crash. Doctors were unable to find the medical cause for the incident. His sudden death was a shock to his co-workers and family, most especially his two sons Joe Jr. and Fred, and his granddaughter Katrina.
Unfortunately, he died without a will and left behind many debts that his son Joe has been tirelessly working to untangle and rectify.
(Joe and his parents, Linda and Joseph Sr., in happier days before Linda's illness)Joseph Sr. was one of the most generous men I’ve ever met, sometimes to a fault. He often declined help, preferring to offer it to others instead. He served in Vietnam as an Airborne Ranger, and came home badly injured. When those injuries flared up again in later years, he steadfastly refused the help of the VA. He always felt that there was someone else who needed that help more, opting instead to pay for his medical care through hard work and determination. When his wife Linda was diagnosed with myelofibrosis and suffered a long, difficult illness, he was beside her every step of the way, taking her to the hospital and doing his best to sort out the astronomical medical bills.
His son, Joe Bills, Jr., takes after him in both determination, work ethic. When I suggested a fundraiser after his father’s death, Joe would not hear of it. Instead, he waded fearlessly into the financial mess left behind by his father, juggling his full-time job at a magazine, his work as a comic book shop owner, and suddenly also running his father’s trucking company. But sheer effort and long hours cannot magically fix financial chaos or save a family home of nearly 40 years.
I have started this fundraiser for my dear friend Joe, and also as a tribute to Joseph Sr., because Joe has wielded super-human strength the past three years, giving his time, health, money, and energy in an effort to save his father’s business, to make sure his employees are taken care of, to avoid losing the family house, and to help both his brother and niece. This fundraiser is my holiday gift to them.
(LEFT: Joe petting a neighborhood cat in front of writer Eudora Welty's home in Jackson, Mississippi. RIGHT: Joe in his comic book shop, Escape Hatch Books in Jaffrey, New Hampshire)
Joe has given his time and energy to so many people (and animals!) through the years—if your dog runs away, Joe will spend hours searching for him. If you need a ride to the airport, Joe will drive you. If you are starving on the street, Joe will give his last dollar to feed you. It is time for the karmic wheel to spin around—for Joe to experience the generosity and large-heartedness that he has shown to others.
Since Joe Sr.'s death, I have often heard friends ask how they can help. While Joe has always politely declined, here now is the answer: by giving to this fundraiser.
Your donation will
1. help Joe save his family’s home in Wilton, New Hampshire
2. do much-needed repair work to the house
3. pay off debts left behind by his father
4. support his comic book shop (a popular gathering spot for local kids and teens)
5. and give Joe and his brother a new start.
Donations will go directly to Joe. His first priority is paying back mortgage payments and taxes on the family home. Additional funds will be put into house repairs. (This allows Joe to keep his personal funds for his comic and games shop in Jaffrey.)
The continual stress and demands of managing multiple jobs, as well as his father’s estate, are unrelenting. Joe deserves the chance to invest in his comic book store, which his brother Fred helps run and so many customers enjoy, and his magazine job, which he loves, without the shadow of his father’s debts hanging over him. He deserves the chance to have free time and to enjoy life again, after three years with little sleep and continual sacrifice and stress.
Donations are urgently needed. While the fundraising goal is a drop in the bucket of what is required, even this modest amount will make a tremendous difference to Joe and his brother during this time of financial crisis.
Emergencies comes in many forms: sometimes it is a dramatic fire or weather event or an illness, but at others it is simply the challenge of daily living and forging ahead when things fall apart. It can be particularly hard to ask for help when immersed in these daily struggles, which is why I organized this fundraiser for Joe. We've all been there and know how much small gestures mean. Please consider making your own small gesture today by donating to this worthy cause.
Thank you for the care and love you have shown through the years. Your support means the world!
—Michelle Aldredge
Harrisville, New Hampshire
NOTE: Checks may be mailed to PO Box 468, Hancock NH 03449.
LEFT: Joe shortly before the loss of his father. RIGHT: Linda and Joseph Sr. celebrating Halloween.
Joe has given his time and energy to so many people (and animals!) through the years—if your dog runs away, Joe will spend hours searching for him. If you need a ride to the airport, Joe will drive you. If you are starving on the street, Joe will give his last dollar to feed you. It is time for the karmic wheel to spin around—for Joe to experience the generosity and large-heartedness that he has shown to others.
Since Joe Sr.'s death, I have often heard friends ask how they can help. While Joe has always politely declined, here now is the answer: by giving to this fundraiser.
Your donation will
1. help Joe save his family’s home in Wilton, New Hampshire
2. do much-needed repair work to the house
3. pay off debts left behind by his father
4. support his comic book shop (a popular gathering spot for local kids and teens)
5. and give Joe and his brother a new start.
Donations will go directly to Joe. His first priority is paying back mortgage payments and taxes on the family home. Additional funds will be put into house repairs. (This allows Joe to keep his personal funds for his comic and games shop in Jaffrey.)
The continual stress and demands of managing multiple jobs, as well as his father’s estate, are unrelenting. Joe deserves the chance to invest in his comic book store, which his brother Fred helps run and so many customers enjoy, and his magazine job, which he loves, without the shadow of his father’s debts hanging over him. He deserves the chance to have free time and to enjoy life again, after three years with little sleep and continual sacrifice and stress.
Donations are urgently needed. While the fundraising goal is a drop in the bucket of what is required, even this modest amount will make a tremendous difference to Joe and his brother during this time of financial crisis.
Emergencies comes in many forms: sometimes it is a dramatic fire or weather event or an illness, but at others it is simply the challenge of daily living and forging ahead when things fall apart. It can be particularly hard to ask for help when immersed in these daily struggles, which is why I organized this fundraiser for Joe. We've all been there and know how much small gestures mean. Please consider making your own small gesture today by donating to this worthy cause.
Thank you for the care and love you have shown through the years. Your support means the world!
—Michelle Aldredge
Harrisville, New Hampshire
NOTE: Checks may be mailed to PO Box 468, Hancock NH 03449.
LEFT: Joe shortly before the loss of his father. RIGHT: Linda and Joseph Sr. celebrating Halloween.
Organizer and beneficiary
Michelle Aldredge
Organizer
Harrisville, NH
Joe Bills
Beneficiary