Donors have raised more than $100,000 for a John Wayne Airport employee who caught the attention of a traveler from Utah when she looked out the window of a terminal at the Orange County airport.
LaCinda Thackeray was at the airport in Santa Ana when she noticed the employee in a high-visibility vest appearing to struggle as he walked near the gate area. She posted of video of the man on TikTok asking, “Does anyone know this man at John Wayne Airport? Watching him work so hard, even thought he could barely move, truly broke my heart.”
She was soon connected with a co-worker who identified James Blair, an aircraft refueler at the airport.
“His co-worker said to me, you know, how many people have passed that window and seen what you’ve seen, but you’re the only one who took the action and helped him that day,” Thackeray said.
Thackeray, who was in Southern California to attend a funeral for her cousin’s 2-year-old child, and Blair eventually met over FaceTime. She set up a fundraiser titled “Help Him Retire with Dignity” that, as of Friday, collected $104,206.
“I did not expect that,” Blair told NBCLA. “I did not ask for it. I’m just doing my job, trying to survive.”
The fundraiser has a $200,000 goal.
Blair said the money will help him care for his 90-year-old mother, who requires round-the-clock care. She is one of the reasons he continues to work, Blair said.
Blair also is trying to save money for knee surgery.
“When you go up and down on your knees three, four times a flight, after a while the knees just start giving out,” he said. “I’m in pain all the time. Walking downstairs, walking on ladders.”
Airport refuelers typically operate refueling trucks and connect hoses supplying aviation fuel in demanding and rigorous work.
He said the donations could not have been more timely.
“It almost got to a point, I want to say, like a month ago, where I was going to have to quit work to take care of her,” Blair said.