Photo by Zachary Siebert / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Rexel Spencer and his Pomeranian Gabriel hang out on the front porch of Mr. Spencer’s apartment in Bolckow, Mo. After his wife died six years ago, and his neighbor, who helped take care of him, died a year ago, Mr. Spencer was left alone with little idea of how to care for himself.

Editor’s note: The News-Press runs periodic stories on individuals who have been helped by United Way agencies. The United Way of St. Joseph’s capital campaign kicked off last week and runs until Nov. 6.

BOLCKOW, Mo. — A year ago, Rexel Spencer lived in a lonely apartment with only one can of food in his cabinet and the cherished memories of the two women in his life who cared for him.

His wife of seven months died of a heart attack six years before. His next-door neighbor who looked out for him after his wife’s passing died herself a year ago of pancreatic cancer.

All Mr. Spencer had left were both women’s pictures on the wall and the Pomeranian named Gabriel that his good neighbor and friend left behind.

“I felt real empty and thought ‘Boy, what am I going to do now?’” the 65-year-old Mr. Spencer said. “I was just lost for quite a while. It was really bad. I couldn’t sleep of a night.”

Two months before Mr. Spencer’s friend and next-door neighbor died, she had asked the Division of Senior Services to check in on him. The Division of Senior Services in turn contacted the InterServ in-home services program. InterServ sent in a

homemaker to help Mr. Spencer get back on his feet. She cooked his meals and cleaned his apartment. Most of all, she gave him reason to smile again.

“Diane (Diana Proctor, his InterServ in-home services caretaker) is so outstanding,” Mr. Spencer said. “She’s always got a smile. Seems like when I get up of a morning, I got that big smile of a morning now.”

Mr. Spencer also suffers from diabetes and heart problems. An InterServ in-home services program nurse comes in once a week and sets up his pill regimen, too. His daily dosages would confound anyone.

“I probably take 10 to 12 pills a morning, I think about four at noon and four or five at night,” he said.

Janice Paxson, InterServ director of senior services, said the goal is to keep seniors like Mr. Spencer living in their homes as independently as possible. InterServ serves more than 30 in-home clients in the Andrew, Clinton and Buchanan county areas. The money the agency receives from the United Way of Greater St. Joseph helps make their mission of providing much-needed service for these clients possible, she said.

“About one-third of our budget comes from the United Way,” Mrs. Paxson said. “We would be one-third in the hole if we didn’t have those dollars ... We’d eventually have to cut back on services for people.”

“I think the United Way is top of the line,” Mr. Spencer said. “It helps not just me, but hundreds of people, lots of people, who need help.”

Alonzo Weston can be reached

at alonzow@npgco.com.