Tip of the Month Recipient | The Wilker Family

All tips given the month of August will be donated to the Joe Wilker family of Carthagena. Joe is 46 years old, works at Maria Stein Grain, is married to Betsy who works at West Ohio Tool and Manufacturing in St. Henry, and they have two children, Reagan (7) and Connor (4).

In August of 1998 Joe had a hemorrhage in the brain and found he had a benign tumor. He had surgery, that December, to have it removed. In 2003 Joe was involved in a serious accident that left residual nerve damage in his neck, hands, and legs. Joe had physical therapy, but he did not fully recover. Although his injuries made it harder for him to get around, he chose to work a physical job instead of taking disability. In 2020, Joe started having severe headaches, and unfortunately his tumor was back. This time the tumor was cancerous and Joe had surgery to remove it, followed with radiation, and a year of chemotherapy. He was off work a lot, which was straining on the family, but he did receive help from the community. Joe had a routine checkup in early March 2025, and they detected a tumor in the same location and that it was growing quickly. In May, the cancerous tumor was removed at The James Hospital in Columbus. Three weeks after surgery Joe went back into the hospital for a spinal leak. He was in the hospital for an additional 5 days. Mid-July Joe started a new form of chemotherapy, that he will be taking everyday, twice a day, for a minimum of 2 years. He can go back to work as long as his health permits.

Joe enjoys spending time with family and playing with his children. He also enjoys working out in his shop tinkering and cleaning vehicles. Let us keep the Wilker family in our daily prayers. Your generous tip will help cover their medical bills. Thank you and God bless!

August 2025