Barren Co. veteran given over $14K from the community as wife prepares to battle cancer

BARREN COUNTY, Ky. – Thursday morning at the judge executive’s Office, Larry Gazda of Barren County was rewarded over $14,000 donated by the community as his wife prepares to battle cancer.

Gazda, an 83-year-old Army and Navy veteran, informed Barren County judge executive Jamie Byrd that he would have to take some time off of work to take care of his wife and was worried about the financial impact that could come with it.

Byrd got right to work, helping raise money for Gazda, and in less than 24 hours, she had received more than she’d imagined.

“It blew up, in regards to people donating, you know, $5, $10, $20,” Byrd said, “Now, I started seeing some hundreds come through. Then I saw some thousands come through, and at about 10 last night, I looked at my husband and kids and said, ‘I think were going to be able to give Larry around $10,0000 tomorrow.”

The Barren County High School FFA also gifted him a food basket for him and his wife as she begins to go through her treatment.

Gazda was rewarded with more donation money from the likes of Barren County Veterans Association and the Disabled American Veterans Chapter in Glasgow, totaling in at $1,200.

All of this came as a surprise to Gazda, who thought he was just going to receive something as simple as a plaque. Instead, he was given over thousands donated from the community.

“He had no idea.” Byrd said, “He didn’t ask me to financially try to help him personally. He just expressed to me that he’s going to have to leave and that, you know, it’s going to be hard.”

The lifelong Barren County fan was greeted by boy’s basketball head coach Warren Cunningham and one of his favorite players, Junior Trojanette shooting guard Shelby Byrd.

Gazda doesn’t miss very many Trojan and Trojanette games and even keeps stats for the teams throughout the season.

Barren County athletics also decided to help Gazda during this time, offering a chance to donate at every Barren County game.

“The band boosters who handle the concessions at the games, they are going to put out a jar and have Larry’s picture on it. And if you want to donate a dollar, $2 even, you can donate there. They will give all those proceeds to Larry,” Byrd said.

When a member of your community is down, it is possible to rally behind them and pick them up in a time of need. Barren County has done this for Larry and his wife during this trying time.