Help a 100-year-old WWII veteran's wish to stay in his Whittier home
John Campa is a 100-year-old World War II veteran who has been a resident of Whittier for the past 60 years. During this time, he has lived in the same house with his wife, where they created many memories with family and friends.
Campa was born in Anaheim in 1923 and was the oldest of eight kids. When Campa was 19 years old, he was drafted into the war months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, he came back to California to settled down and start a family.
In 1968, Campa and his wife, Betty, purchased their first home in Whittier and for the past 60 years they filled it with memories.
Two years ago, Betty passed away during the pandemic at age 76 and John has been under 24/7 home care ever since.
He carried on with support from his family, but the cost of his health care is weighing them down.
"It was causing me a lot of anxiety, seeing his money go down and I was trying to shield him from not knowing his current situation," said his daughter, Zelda Dominguez.
The family was forced to do a reverse mortgage on his home, but now he has outlived the money he received from that loan.
"How do you tell a 100-year-old man you don't have any more money and you must move out because we need to sell the house. It's heartbreaking. I didn't want to have to do that," said Zelda.
She understands that selling the home may be the only option.
"It breaks our heart, so we are trying to find a way to fulfill his last wish," said Zelda.
The family's prayer is that John can live out his final days in his home that brought him so much happiness.
"I want to die here. This is where I want to die," said John.
John's last wish is to be able to stay in his home for the remainder of his days, but he won't be able to without financial help.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help out John Campa and donations will go towards his home caregivers along with any other medical bills he may need.
