91-year-old Beloit veteran needs renovations done in order to remain living at home

BELOIT, Wis. (WTVO) — A 91-year-old Beloit veteran is facing troubles if he cannot get his driveway repaved, a condition required by his healthcare team to keep him living at home.

Air Force veteran Bob Knox, who served during the Korean War, has lived at his home on McKinley Avenue since 1966 and says his house is full of fond memories.

“Being here all these years, I raised three kids, had a lot of parties, had weddings here. We had everything here,” he said Wednesday.

Knox says he spends time at home cooking meals (he describes them as “edible”) and in his workshop garage, where he used to tinker with electronics.

Now, his eyesight is deteriorating, threatening his ability to stay at home.

“I’ve got a bad driveway. I’m blind, too. I don’t see where I’m walking until I get there, and when you’re trying to walk and you find a spot, a hole, I’m afraid I’ll fall. That’s what I’m afraid of,” he said.

Veteran support organization VetsRoll connected Knox with a contractor who can refinish his driveway, but the cost is $23,000.

“Things like this come up in the communities where we have a veteran and we want to keep them in their house and we’ll reach out to the community to help out, and this is one of the really good causes,” said VetsRoll president, Mark Finnegan, who started a GoFundMe to raise money to offset the cost of the install.

Knox’s stepdaughter, Crystal Alderman, lives across the street from him and said a new driveway would be a lifesaver.

“My stepdad has been independent his whole life. He don’t let nothing slow him down, but he’s totally blind. So, we’ve got to get him some independence and he’s missing this because he can’t walk, he used to walk down to the curb and back, he can’t do that now and he’s getting weaker because he can’t walk,” she said.

“I’ve got to walk, I know that. That’s why I want the driveway flat, no holes and everything,” Knox said.

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