Wendall and his wife, Della, 83, were running errands during one of his days off in late August when they stopped by the Lexington, Kentucky, McDonald’s where he is employed to grab an early morning meal. But when Della went to use the restroom, she suffered an aneurysm. Della was rushed to the hospital, where she would die just days later, a GoFundMe set up to raise money for the grieving widower, explains.

Wendall has cleaned the restrooms and taken out the trash at the restaurant for more than 40 years, and it is where he first met former employee Todd Oldfield. When Oldfield recently stopped by the fast food eatery for a meal, he heard about Della’s death, according to the GoFundMe.

“Wendall is devastated; lost; totally empty now. Nothing is left,” Oldfield wrote on the donation page. “Wendall has to keep working right there in the store, walking past this restroom, cleaning it daily. This is what the man does.”

“This memory of what happened in there will never leave him I fear. And, he cannot leave the store. He has no money,” Oldfield continued. “He has to keep going … he has to keep strong. He has to keep working. I cannot even imagine the torture.”

After Della’s death, Wendall was left to raise the couple’s two adopted adult grandchildren — John Columbia, 33, and Justin Gill, 20. One of the men has autism, and the other was born with fetal alcohol syndrome, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Oldfield, who is now a financial planner, created the GoFundMe campaign to help Wendall in his time of need, according to the newspaper. The campaign has raised nearly $75,000 for Wendall and his family, and ultimately, Oldfield says he would like to raise enough for his former coworker to retire.

“You still work, and I’m not sure you need to,” he told Wendall in a video on the donation page. “I know you want to, but I’d rather you be the little old guy that goes in and sits at McDonald’s all day drinking coffee with the people and let somebody else clean it up.”

With the funds, they have been able to pay off Wendall’s two cars. The Herald-Leader also reported that strangers have offered to pay for Della’s headstone.

According to the Herald-Leader, Oldfield is also hoping to be able to pay off the $74,000 Wendall owes on his house.

Oldfield also wants Wendall to feel valued for all the work he has done over the years, so he is throwing his old friend an “Appreciation Party” on October 20 at a church near the McDonald’s. Hopefully, he said, Wendall will see how much he means to their community.

“I want 100 people to walk through the door and give the man a hug,” Oldfield told the Herald-Leader. “Despite having been under-compensated for all these years, he touched a lot of people.”

The community response so far has touched both men, they told theWashington Post earlier this month.

“I love them for doing something like that for me,” Wendall said. “They really care, and I care, too.”

Added Oldfield to the Post, “I’d lost a little faith in humanity until this came along.”

This article originally appeared on People.

The post Community Raises Over $75K for Longtime McDonald’s Employee After His Wife Dies Suddenly appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.

For Jim Schlegel, a 97-year-old World War II Veteran, he would love to see a Chicago Cubbies victory. He was at Wrigley Field in 1945, the last time the team was in the series. That’s back when a box seat cost less than $8, according to NBC5 Chicago.

Schlegel’s granddaughter created a GoFundMe page to raise money to purchase her grandfather two tickets to attend the series and see the Cubs in action, just like he did all those years ago. With ticket prices through the roof on the secondary market, the campaign urged to raise $10,000 to afford a pair of coveted seats.

The family was thrilled when the learned that Host of CNBC’s “The Profit” Marcus Lemonis had his heart set on taking the 97-year-old to the Series. After Lemonis heard Schlegel’s story, he made it his mission to track him down.

“I found the person I want to take to the game but I need help finding him @fox32news @Cubs @chicagotribune,” Lemonis wrote on Twitter.

Lemonis connected with the WWII Vet’s family and offered two front-row tickets to Game Three at Wrigley Field, where Schlegel could watch the Cubs come one step closer to winning the Series for the first time since 1908.

“This man is so deserving. We’ve connected and he’s going with my two tix first row Friday. Enjoy  Jim, bring us a win!!! @Cubs @fox32news”

This man is so deserving. We’ve connected and he’s going with my two tix first row Friday. Enjoy Jim, bring us a win!!! @Cubs @fox32news https://t.co/C3LxCu5V0w

— Marcus Lemonis (@marcuslemonis) October 25, 2016

“Thank you @marcuslemonis & @Hugsandxoxo4u2 for donating front row tickets to my Grandpa and Dad! They will be attending Friday nights game!” Schlegel’s granddaughter replied.

Thank you @marcuslemonis & @Hugsandxoxo4u2 for donating front row tickets to my Grandpa and Dad! They will be attending Friday nights game!

— Helen Schlegel (@BoogBoog88) October 25, 2016

As for the GoFundMe page, it’s raised more than $12,000. After Lemonis donated the two tickets, Schlegel’s family decided to donate 100% of the donations to the Purple Heart Foundation.

“Now that we’ve been gifted 2 tickets to the World Series from the generous Marcus Lemonis, I’m excited to have this opportunity and the momentum of the community here to share the support my Grandpa has seen with other deserving veterans,” the family wrote.

“To continue the giving spirit here, we’ve decided to donate 100% of donations to this campaign to the Purple Heart Foundation and are looking into the best way to route funds to them. More to come on that.”

Schlegel took to Twitter to thank Lemonis in a sweet video and said, “I appreciate your generosity, and hope we bring in a winner.” He plans on taking his son with him to the epic Series.

Photo Credit: GoFundMe

The post 97-Year-Old Fan Scores Tickets to Watch Cubs Play in Second World Series appeared first on Positive Celebrity News, Good Celebrity Gossip, Positive Entertainment News | Good Celebrity.