After days of donation and funding by a TikToker, helped an 82-year-old cashier at Walmart to raise $100,000 who was also a U.S. Navy Veteran. He finally retired from his work on Wednesday.
The old grandfather, Butch Marion lived in Cumberland, Maryland was able to retire from his work after the TikToker Rory McCarty handed him a $108,682 check that was raised in online donations from GoFundMe. TikTok organised a fundraiser that posted posts that went viral on the platform.
The post posted in December received a view count of over three million. “As a business owner and knowing how hard it’s been to try to find a good help for my business I was astounded seeing this little older man still grinding working 8 to 9-hour shifts,” McCarty wrote on the GoFundMe page.
A video posted by Fox 5 Washington DC showed Marion exiting his workplace after doing his last shift. He was seen carrying balloons while entering the parking lot, with his friends and family cheering and celebrating his retirement. Both McCarty and Marion were seen crying over the happiness.
“I love you, man,” McCarty tells Marion as he hands him the check.
With videos of him trying to get rid of creepy crawlies from homes, McCarty, who runs the extermination business Bug Boys, has gained a large following on TikTok. On December 16, he uploaded his first post presenting Marion, which drew more than 3.3 million views.
On the GoFundMe page, McCarty stated that he was motivated after watching a clip of a fellow TikToker supporting a senior Walmart employee who couldn’t afford to retire. He met Marion, who was his cashier that day when purchasing batteries from the Cumberland store.
“I wanted to help this navy veteran to live the remainder of his years traveling to see his kids in Florida,” McCarty wrote on GoFundMe. “Get him off his feet for 8 hrs at a time. And do the things he would love to do that he may not be able to for financial reasons.”
The GoFundMe has collected an additional $12,500 in contributions since Marion retired.
McCarty later welcomed Marion to his farm in Cumberland, where the two drove ATVs and had “a really good time,” according to Fox 5 journalist David Kaplan. On TikTok, McCarty also published recordings of their hangout.
“They said they have forged a friendship that they’re going to have for years to come,” Kaplan said.
Regarding the future, Fox 5 reported that Marion wants to take it slow. “He says he wants to sit by the river and have a beer and enjoy his life, which now he’ll be able to do,” Kaplan said.
