L-26’s Freddie Pipkin will be missed
I WOULD LIKE to thank everyone who expressed their love for Freddie Pipkin (Local 26, Savannah, Ga). There are no words to express my sincere appreciation for all your acts of kindness. Thanks to everyone who sent flowers, cards, memorials, prayers, and to those who came to his memorial. Your thoughtfulness will always have a special place in my heart. He will be missed by all who knew him.
JOELLA S. PIPKIN, wife of Local 26 member, Freddie Pipkin
Juliette, Ga.
Editors note: Freddie Pipkin died Feb. 3, 2007.
Cancer no match for L-128 Boilermaker
WHILE GETTING READY for work on July 4, my left leg collapsed. Tests revealed a massive tumor on the right frontal lobe of my brain. Within a week, the use of my left side was gone. As quickly as its onset, my family and my Boilermaker brothers and sisters were there for support. We were overwhelmed with moral support and gifts to help us adjust. My spirits are high, my appetite has returned, and my morale is great.
I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to all those wonderful friends and Boilermakers who practically eliminated stress out of the equation so we could think and get organized. Special thanks to my nephews Mark Keenan and Stuart McDonald (both L-128 members) for setting up my house to accommodate my disability. I love you guys. This cancer will be beaten — it has no idea who it has got itself into!
TERRY KEENAN, Local 128
Port Elgin, Ontario
Our sincere thanks to the Boilermakers
WE WOULD LIKE to send a sincere thanks to all of the Boilermakers who sent donations, called, and visited my husband, Gene “Gene’o” Bell (L-11, Helena, Mont.), during his struggle following exposure to toxic chemicals while working at Teck Cominco Ltd. in Canada. Donations from Boilermakers and other trades helped pay our expenses to travel to Canada to see a neurologist and pay for tests that were needed. The donations also helped us stay afloat while we went through the disability retirement process. Thank you so much. Without all of your help, we may not have made it through this difficult time. It once again makes us proud to be members of such a great family.
GENE and DEBBIE BELL, Local 11
Helena, Mont.
Spouse wants recipes for fund-raiser
MY HUSBAND, BILLY FAKE, is a retired member of Local 11 (Helena, Mont.). He suffers from Mesothelioma, a lung cancer caused by asbestos exposure. I have just been named president of the Mesothelioma Wish Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that grants wishes (like a fishing trip or vacation with grandkids) to patients recently diagnosed with Mesothelioma.
As a fund-raiser for this organization, I am putting together a cookbook and am asking anyone who has ever been touched by any form of cancer to contribute recipes. The book will be available at hospitals, cancer centers, and clinic gift shops across the United States, as well as Relay-For-Life events. All proceeds will go to the Mesothelioma Wish Foundation. Recipes can be submitted to me at marilynfake [at] yahoo.com. For more information on the Mesothelioma Wish Foundation, please call 1-888-888-4099 or visit www.mesowish.org.
Marilyn Fake
Laurel, Mont.
