SSgt John Spencer's Life: Urgent Help Needed for his Family

My husband of 6 and 1/2 years, John Lyman Spencer, "Scooter John" passed away suddenly on February 19th at the Phoenix VAMC. He had multiple issues, including congestive heart failure, Parkinson's disease, and chronic kidney disease. He was 69 years old, loved Harleys or anything on two wheels, archaeology, and astronomy. In the last 6 months, he'd been in and out of the hospital with cardiac and respiratory problems. He was a lung cancer survivor and had been in remission for over a year

I am attempting to raise funds to pay for his cremation and to cover final expenses along with the purchase of urns for his family, myself, and close friends, also one to be placed in the ground at the national cemetery in Cave Creek. Also, funds would go towards the payment of final bills and rent for a couple of months until I can find a more affordable apartment to live in and a job to continue paying the bills on my own.

John was a 14-year military veteran who served in both the Army and the Marines as a combat engineer ranked as a Staff Sargeant at end of the Vietnam era. He was a longtime member of the American Legion Post 27 and Post 39, where he was a member of the American Legion Riders, and his road name was Scooter John. He was born in Rochester, New York, but moved to Arizona in his early teens, where he was a member of the first graduating class of the old Mesa High School. He has one son, one stepson, three stepdaughters, multiple grandchildren, and a few great-granddaughters. He is survived by his wife (me) and his two sisters. We recently lost his mother and his father-in-law.

Any assistance will help as the bills keep coming in and there's not enough money to go out. I appreciate your time to read this, and please, if at all possible, help us with what you can. I would like to give him a decent celebration for the releasing of his cremains and a nice motorcycle or USMC-themed urn for internment in Cave Creek national cemetery. There are no monies coming in from the VA for anything in the foreseeable future nor from social security retirement. There will be a very small pension payment of less than $300 coming monthly but other than that there's no income coming in. I have just had surgery on my wrist and will be getting surgery on my back and hip soon. I'm unable to go back to work right now and we have bills that have to get paid that didn't get paid because of the cost of cremation and the summer is coming on we need to be sure that we have rent taken care of. I don't want to lose my house right after I lost my husband. I'm unable to go back to work disability takes time and the bill collectors will not wait. Anything will help I've even lowered the goal from $5,000 down to 3,500 I only need the rent paid for a couple of months and enough to pay the phone and light bills for a couple of months and then if I have to cancel my back surgery I will but I can't be homeless in the summer I know John wouldn't want it like that.

It's been a month and a half since I check his come in thank God for this GoFundMe because I was able to pay for his cremation and his urn but the rent is a month and a half past due and I am not finding any organization that has any rental assistance anywhere in the surrounding counties or in pinal county where I live. No one has funding and things are starting to look really hopeless at this point the phone bill's about to be unpaid again and T-Mobile will shut it off and the light bill has not been paid but I think I might be able to get that one taken care of bye the health department but I need help my rent is $1,400 and I owe rent for this month and then 2 days the next month is due and I've been trying to take care of things to let him be laid to rest first out of respect and I would love for my husband but I'm not able to even do that because I'm so busy with my doctor's appointments and physical therapy and surgeon appointments. I'm a handyman through next door and I've had several little jobs but nothing enough to pay a one bill in full and things are adding up the money I've been able to make because I don't charge very much has only been able to basically pay my gas and food because I do not get food stamps so that is still in process I've applied but have not gotten benefits yet I need help I need help badly and I need help ASAP it seems like every time I get money donated on here it goes to the bank and it's barely able to cover the negative balance that's in the bank because if one thing or another now I'm feeling really hopeless and I need some help please if you can just help with whatever little bit you can part with because I don't see you like at the end of this tunnel it's very overwhelming I haven't even been able to grieve yet I'm just and survival mode and I really just want to be able to focus on my health so that I can get back into the workforce and when I have my appointment next week with a job specialist somebody who can help me find a job with my disabilities hopefully I will have a good outcome. It kind of narrows down the possibilities whenever you're legally blind and really can't lift anything or have been told not to lift anything more than 10 lb kind of puts a strain on the options but any donation would be greatly appreciated and I don't like asking for help I never have and I always tend to finally ask for help whenever it's really too late to get help but I'm begging please whatever you can help with I will definitely be using to keep me alive