Russell Lahaie, a resident of Ellensburg in Washington, suffered a tragic loss when his wife Meletta died in March after she was diagnosed with cancer on February 22. He was left in deep debt by his wife’s medical bills, a report said.
Lahaie is a service writer at Canopy Country in Ellensburg. Canopy Country organized a community drive-through prime rib dinner to raise funds for him. It raised over $19,000. Lahaie still owed $11,000 for medical debt and the dinner was $4,000.
Forrest River supplies Canopy Country with its products. They also supply stores throughout the country. Forrest River paid the remainder of Lahaie’s debts totaling approximately $15,000.
Steve Roitstein, Forrest River’s Sales Manager, stated that they started out as a business relationship but it “has evolved into a relationship that I can only call a family relationship.”
Bradey Poyer from Canopy Country Ellensburg stated that they have become close friends with Forrest River’s suppliers and came down to the dinner to help. They served food and directed traffic to raise funds for Lahaie.
Poyer stated that they also tried to determine how much Russ owed at the time and, for no reason, asked him in passing how much. “It was approximately $15,000 more than what we had raised. Forrest River sent Russ a $15,000 check within two weeks to pay the rest of his medical bills.”
Lahaie stated that he would be drowning in debt if it wasn’t for the close family relationship between Canopy Country and Forrest River. Lahaie said that he owes this generosity to his strong circle of friends who care for each other.
Lahaie stated, “I was shocked when I was informed what the $15,000 remaining would be, yeah.” “I am shocked. It really made a big difference. I am now done paying off her medical bills. It could take years, but it only took two months,” the report mentioned.
