Lumberjack, Father, Husband, Friend. Memorial Fund
Dear Family, Friends, and Kindhearted Strangers: Thank you.
Thank you for giving me a moment of your valuable time to take a glimpse into the life of a 59-year-old lumberjack, employer, father, husband, grandfather, uncle, brother, and friend, Raymond Guthridge. He’s funny, kind, hardworking, loving, and determined. My sister and I call him “Dad.”
Dad is one of the strongest people I know. He has always been Superman.
He has been logging for over 40 years -- longer than I’ve been alive! Year after year, logging tops the charts as the profession with the highest job-related fatality rates in America, and growing up, I understood why.
He has lived through some close calls and sustained some injuries over the years; from minor cuts and bruises to chainsaw kickbacks, to a tree limb whacking his leg apart at the knee. In 1994 we saw the closest call. My stepmom took my sister and me out of school to take us to the hospital. Shaken but staying strong, she told us that there had been an accident.
A falling tree sheared off a limb from a nearby standing tree. The branch landed in the left side of Dad’s chest, barely missing his heart. It was steep terrain on the job but, thankfully, he wasn’t alone like he was, typically. Dad works in very remote locations so even luckier still, there was a home close enough that had a phone! My uncle ran to the house and kind strangers helped call in the life flight helicopter to get Dad to the hospital. Dad fought through the life-threatening injury and has been logging ever since, having lived to be called “Pappy” by my sister and brother-in-law’s three beautiful children, ages 6, 5, and 3-1/2.
Now he’s fighting for his life, again, and I’m calling for help.
In June 2021 Dad was diagnosed with TWO stage 4 cancers: colon cancer, which is awful enough on its own, and peritoneal cancer—a rare cancer (and even rarer in men) that develops in the peritoneum—the inside wall of the abdomen. Everyone was shocked –how was this not found earlier!?
They’re both tremendously aggressive cancers and usually found in late stages when they’ve become especially painful and difficult to treat. Many times, people only have a few months in which to fight this as hard as possible. This is the case for Dad.
Financial and emotional worry is HEAVY and asking for help is not fun.
Worrying and facing immediate money shortages is exhausting. I am asking for financial help for Dad because right now he is in treatment for both cancers. Dad needs to focus on managing his pain and feeling better.
I don’t know what insurance will cover, I don’t know what surprise bills will come up, and I don’t know what is going to happen next. On top of their expected bills and expenses, my parents have the unknown total cost of Dad being in and out of the hospital, the cost of drugs for the pain, the chemotherapy, and travel expenses. Most recently, he is experiencing lost wages because he’s not able to work due to the cancer treatment. Logging is heavy work and he needs to rest to get well.
You can help right now by donating to our campaign and sharing this message with your friends, family, and even some kind strangers you haven’t met. My family and I appreciate any amount of money anyone can give. Every amount is helpful and a recognized kindness.
Please, quickly, donate, share, and send words of encouragement. Again, with profound gratitude:
Thank You.
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Paypal: paypal.me/melissadell15
Venmo: @MelissaDell-for-Dad Security code: 0592
Checks written to Raymond Guthridge mail to:
Raymond Guthridge
PO BOX 246
Yeagertown, PA 17099