Brother Honored for Promoting “the Purest Form of Charity”

Left-right:: Brother John Shoop; Ruth Wheeler; Brother Jack R. Wheeler; Brother Bill Soloway, Program Director; and Lynn B. (Bud) Baker, R.W. Junior Grand Warden

Brother Jack R. Wheeler was inspired to become Masonic District 16’s Blood & Organ Donor Chairman for personal reasons.

Back in 1992, his wife, Carol, needed a life-saving kidney transplant, and her older brother, Mike Fisher, volunteered to be a living donor. After her successful transplant the following year, Carol enjoyed 26 years of life until 2019, when she passed away from a severe heart attack.

Since Carol was an organ donor, Jack worked with the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE), one of two organ procurement organizations in Pennsylvania (Gift of Life Donor Program being the other one). He learned Carol’s corneas would help others see, her tissue could help burn victims and her major bones could benefit others now, and through research, into the future.

“I agreed to the retrieval, and I knew that Carol was smiling down from Heaven,” Jack said. “I wanted to become involved because my wife benefited from a transplant, and the general need for blood is ongoing. This process showed me an easy way to provide a much-needed commodity to save lives.

“Donating blood is possibly the purest form of charity,” he added. “When one gives blood, they have no idea who the recipient might be, but they know they are helping someone in need in the greater community.”

Due to his experience with organ donation, Jack, a Past Master of both Rural Amity Lodge No. 70, Athens, and Trojan Lodge No. 306, Troy, asked to become District 16’s Chairman, responsible for overseeing Masonic blood drives and assisting the lodges as needed.

Jack recently retired after several years in that role but remains an Organ Donor Ambassador for the Masonic Blood + Organ Donor Program. Ambassadors each have a personal connection to life-saving organ transplantation. He also served on the Board of Directors.

Jack, accompanied by his wife, Ruth, received a special Service Award in May from Masonic Blood + Organ Donor Program Director Brother Bill Soloway, board member John Shoop and R.W. Junior Grand Warden Lynn (Bud) Baker, at a dinner in Athens, Pennsylvania.

“We’re proud of all the good works that Brother Jack has done, not just for District 16 but for the program overall,” Bill said.

“I was humbled and really surprised,” Jack said. “No one enters this effort looking for awards or recognition. All I did was what was needed to be done. I really wanted to help with the statewide effort.”

At the event, District 16 was celebrated as the leading district in Pennsylvania so far this year for the total units of blood collected (350) during blood drives. There are five blood collection agencies located throughout the state, including the American Red Cross, that assist with setting up and staffing the various blood drives.

District 16’s blood collection program began because of the efforts of Rural Amity Lodge No. 70, Jack said.

The overall success of District 16’s program came after their initial blood drive was held in June 2021, a well-attended event at the Sayre VFW. Several lodges were present to participate and learn the mechanics of holding a drive, registering donors, assuring smooth operations of the reception area and thanking the donors as they left.

Since the initial drive, nearly all the lodges in the district have become involved, and a healthy competition has developed among them to see who can collect the greatest number of units. Individually, they strive to improve upon their previous drive and the previous year, Jack said.

“We’re just a rural district in the mountains of northern Pennsylvania,” he said. “All it took was having our brethren attend the initial blood drive and say, ‘I can do this,’ in order for it to continue.”

Jack’s son, Brother Jason F. Wheeler, Rural Amity Lodge No. 70, is currently waiting for a kidney donation. If you are interested in becoming a living organ donor or donating blood, please visit MasonicBloodandOrganDonors.org.