Joseph Eckels

Our brother, Joey Eckels, is one of the hardest-working people you’ll ever meet. If your heat has ever gone out at 2 a.m., you probably know him — the plumber who shows up with a toolbox, a joke, and just enough colorful language to make you laugh even in a crisis. Joey has spent 30 years building Eckels Plumbing and Heating, keeping homes and small businesses running, helping anyone who needed him, and doing it all with honesty, grit, and heart.

Now his own heart is failing, and he needs help.

Joey has survived several heart attacks, multiple stents, and a quadruple bypass. Three months ago, our family thought we might lose him. He quit smoking immediately, committed himself to doing whatever it takes, and last week he was approved for the heart transplant waiting list. He’s still able to work a few hours a day, but the reality is simple:

He needs a new heart — sooner rather than later — and we are at the mercy of the transplant list.

Once Joey gets the call for a donor heart, he will need to relocate to Pittsburgh for weeks or months of recovery, monitoring, and follow-up care. These expenses — travel, temporary housing, lost income, and insurance gaps — add up quickly.

That is why we are fundraising.

Our reason in one sentence:

Every donation helps Joey stay close to the lifesaving care he will need in Pittsburgh and covers the critical costs insurance will not.

If you know Joey, you know he’d be the last person to ask for help — and the first person to show up for anyone else. He has been married to Candy for 28 years, and together they have built a strong, loving family. Now, as a family, we’re asking for help on his behalf.

How You Can Help

All donations are tax-deductible and go directly toward Joey’s transplant-related expenses through the nonprofit Help Hope Live, a 501(c)(3) supporting families in medical crisis.

Donate Online

https://helphopelive.org/campaign/26587/

Mail a Check

Make checks or money orders payable to: Help Hope Live Memo: In Honor of Joey Eckels

Send to: Help Hope Live 2 Radnor Corporate Center Suite 100 100 Matsonford Road Radnor, PA 19087

To Our Local Business Community

Joey has spent decades helping this community — answering emergency calls, fixing furnaces in winter storms, and showing up whenever someone needed him. Now we’re asking local businesses to stand with him as he faces the biggest challenge of his life.

Whether you donate, share the link, or spread the word, your support brings Joey one step closer to the future he deserves — retirement, time with his wife Candy, and passing the business he built to his son Cody.

With gratitude,

The Eckels Family