81-year-old man delivering luggage gets unexpected support

Grit and deep-seated determination are two elements that keep Don Johnson going daily.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says nearly 1 in 5 Americans age 65 and older are active in the workforce or looking for work.

An 81-year-old man doing his job was met with an overwhelming show of kindness and support after sharing his story with a stranger.

Grit and deep-seated determination are two elements that keep Don Johnson going daily.

“You just have to get that grit and prayer and go through and get to the other side,” Johnson said. “It takes you a moment to adjust, but then you just carry on.”

He was doing just that during an unexpected encounter. Don, at 81-years-old, is an independent contractor, delivering lost or delayed luggage to homes from the airport.

He said he started asking to take on additional hours, often working 14-hour days and sometimes racking up hundreds of miles in his car in a single shift.

He was delivering luggage in the Dallas-Fort Worth area when a Ring camera captured him struggling a bit to carry suitcases up a flight of stairs.

“I’m lugging the luggage up the stairs, and it was extremely heavy, and I guess I was making a lot of noise as I was dropping it on the steps; I’m not sure. But this lady came out that I had never seen before,” he said.

The woman offered to help, started a conversation, and wanted to know Johnson’s story.That led him to share that his wife of 57 years, Josephine Johnson, was battling an aggressive cancer.

They’d moved in with their daughter, but the expenses were mounting.

“With the increase in groceries and expenses and everything, we were just getting by,” he said. “I tried Amazon and Walmart and other places. It was either not the right moment, or they just passed on me.”

So, he did what he had to do; sometimes driving as far as Oklahoma for deliveries to bring in money.

“I appreciate what we do get from insurance, but it doesn’t cover it all. And cancer treatment is very expensive,” Johnson said.

That woman at the top of the stairs, a total stranger, was moved by Don’s story and started a GoFundMe page and a TikTok page with the title ‘Help Don Retire.’

“I’m still stunned that people responded. I wasn’t expecting any response,” said Josephine Johnson.

“I left and thought I’d never see her again. And it was an amazing thing she did for me, for us,” he said.

Already, the page has thousands of dollars in donations. The timing is nearly perfect. Within the last week, Don started having car trouble and cut back on his hours delivering luggage.

Through decades of marriage, Josephine said she’s witnessing “for better or worse” in action.

“I’m so happy that he turned out to be the man he is,” she said.

And Don Johnson, soon to get back to work and on the road, said it do it all over again and again for his wife.

“I love her dearly, and I want her to be well,” he said.

He’s spent recent days reflecting on the woman at the top of the stairs and the community now stepping in to help.

“It restores my faith in people,” said Johnson. “For her to do that was a miracle. We didn’t ask for it, but it helps so much, and I look forward to the day that I can help people just like I’m being helped now.”