81-year-old refuses to stop working as wife battles cancer, then strangers try to help

An encounter with an elderly delivery driver in Texas has captured attention after the reason he was still working came to light.

Donald Johnson, 81, was delivering lost luggage to a home when Erin Howell, a resident at The Colony, saw him struggling to carry a heavy bag up a steep set of stairs — a moment captured by her doorbell camera, according to reports.

Howell went outside to help and learned that Johnson had been making luggage deliveries as an independent contractor for the past three years to help cover medical expenses for his wife, Josephine Johnson, who is battling cancer, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported.

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The couple has been married for 57 years. Donald Johnson continued to work during his wife's medical treatment.

He was continuing to make deliveries because he had struggled to find other work, he told Howell during their encounter. 

Donald Johnson, pictured here, was delivering lost luggage to a home in Texas when a doorbell camera captured him struggling to lug heavy bags up a steep set of stairs. (TIKTOK/HelpDonRetire)

"It's the only job that will hire me," Johnson told her, according to the outlet.

Howell shared the elderly man's story online and even started a fundraiser to help with medical expenses and give him the chance to stop working and care for his wife.

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As his story spread, thousands of strangers responded with donations and messages of support.

"I think I'm going to be able to stop working, and that's amazing," Johnson told FOX 4. "So we're not quite totally over the hump yet, but we're getting there very quickly."

Johnson was caught on video delivering luggage, pictured above, as an independent contractor to help cover the medical expenses of his wife. (TIKTOK/HelpDonRetire)

The outpouring of support and prayers had given her encouragement as she continued her cancer battle, Josephine Johnson told FOX 4.

"I can face it. I think that's the big difference," she said. "Some have made comments and they're praying for us. And it's just — it's a joyful feeling."

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The family's circumstances, however, took another turn after the fundraiser was eventually removed from GoFundMe.

In a recent TikTok video, the couple's daughter, Amy Johnson, said the campaign had collected more than $700,000 — but that her parents would not receive the money because the donations were being refunded due to "a technicality."

The outpouring of support and numerous prayers from strangers had been encouraging the family in its battle.  (iStock)

Sitting alongside her parents in the TikTok, the daughter said the money that was raised was intended to help cover her mother's medical expenses as she battles pancreatic cancer and would also give her 81-year-old father the opportunity to stop working.

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GoFundMe told FOX 4, however, that its trust and safety team determined the organizer account and fundraiser violated its terms of service. The company did not specify the exact reason for the decision.

Donald and Josephine Johnson, pictured here, discuss the overwhelming support they had been receiving. An online fundraiser begun by a stranger was intended to help cover the mom's medical expenses as she battles cancer and give the 81-year-old father the opportunity to stop working. (KDFW )

It said its policies require "authenticity and transparency for donors."

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Fox News Digital reached out to Amy Johnson as well as GoFundMe for further comment and details.

Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.