‘What true humanity is supposed to be.’ Veteran receives free furnace from local company
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BLACKFOOT — Eastern Idaho local Frank Perry served in the United States Army during the Vietnam War after he was drafted at 18. Fifty-three years later, he lives in a 102-year-old house with a broken 36-year-old furnace.
“I served in the military from 1972 until 1975, United States Army,” Perry says. “I was proud to serve. I did my duty. I mean, I have to say I was required to serve, but it was an honor to do it.”
After returning from the Army, Perry worked for 40 years in construction, breathing in dust and fumes, leading him to be diagnosed with severe COPD and stage one emphysema. Now, over half a century from his time in the Army, Perry lives back in his hometown, which is technically Mooreland.
One day, Perry fell from a ladder, puncturing his lung and breaking multiple ribs – an injury he would never fully recover from.
“In 2015, when this happened, I only had 14% of (lung) capacity, which they said is almost impossible to live with,” Perry says. “I’m up to 28% capacity now, which they don’t expect to get any better. But I’m always hopeful.”
Since buying his home in 2019, Perry has been able to renovate certain rooms. Last year, however, he got sick, which prevented him from doing any more projects around the house—including fixing his furnace, which constantly went out.
“Most of the remodeling that’s been done on this house since I bought it, did myself. Now, I’m very limited to what I can do. I had a project that I didn’t even get to start on this year because I just couldn’t get the energy up.”
Last week, Perry realized that his nearly 40-year-old furnace was all but dead. However, due to his limited income and only qualifying for little medical assistance from Veterans Affairs, Perry wasn’t sure how he would pay the $6,000 for a new furnace.
“$6,000 is a lot of money. They set up financing at $79 a month for seven years. That means, okay, I can do that, I’ll just have to figure out what I don’t want to do, like eat as much, or drive to as many doctors’ appointments.”
Air Force Veteran Robertta Matulis with the Idaho Division of Veteran Services says this mindset is the unfortunate reality for many local veterans: they go without food or medical assistance to save money to survive.
“I’m getting at least seven calls a day, at that’s just (local) veterans that are reaching me,” says Matulis. “I can’t imagine for a veteran who needs a $6,000 furnace who is already on a very restricted income, where do you think that money is going to come from? It’s going to come out of their food budget most likely, right? So then we’re going to be having malnourished, older veterans who have to weigh what is more important to them – eating or utilities.”
Thankfully, Matulis connected with Perry, who had already been calling around to find someone to install a new furnace. That’s when he found Right Now Heating & Air.
“(Perry) got my number from the (Bingham) County Veterans Service officer, Susan Denney. He gave me a call, let me know what his situation was, and what he needed,” Matulis says. “I reached out to my boss (Mitzi Cheldelin), and she knew immediately.”
Mitzi Cheldelin, the Director of Veterans Outreach & Community Support at Idaho Division of Veterans Services, connected Perry and Matulis to Brian Redford, the general manager for Right Now Heating & Air.
“He said, ‘I was looking to reach out to you, we’re looking to do some giveaways!'” Matulis says. “And (Mitzi) said, ‘I know a veteran that is in need, actually.’ And that’s how that came to be.”
Within just a few days, the two-person staff were up early Thursday morning, taking out the old furnace and replacing it with a brand new, free furnace that will keep Perry warm during the upcoming winter.
“You can’t survive in eastern Idaho without a furnace, you have got to have a furnace,” says Right Now Heating & Air operations manager Bryden Frisk. “Especially in this situation with breathing issues. We don’t want him coming out here when there’s a foot of snow, going down those stairs and messing around with this furnace.”
Frisk says Perry’s home will be nice and warm by noon Thursday. He also notes that being able to do things for locals who need assistance, especially veterans, is an honor.
“It’s a pleasure for us to make this thing right,” Frisk says. “Some of the things Frank has said about him waking up and being able to breathe is just…he is thankful just to be alive. I think a lot of people lose sight of how precious life is, and how this little thing that we do every day can change somebody’s year.”
Perry says he’s excited to wake up tomorrow morning and walk to the warm kitchen as he pours his cup of coffee.
“I feel extremely blessed, beyond for what they’re doing for me here. It’s just incredible. I recommend this company to anyone, mainly because they’ve got some pretty cool staff,” Perry says. “It’s warmed my heart. They’ve shown me what true humanity is supposed to be.”
