MORELAND—After a week of cold rains in early October, Vietnam veteran Frank Perry realized his 36-year-old furnace wasn’t going to make it another winter.

He called Right Now Heating & Air, not realizing the company has a practice of donating needed furnaces to veterans and their families.

When Perry returned to his hometown of Moreland in 2019, he had the furnace in his 102-year-old house refurbished for $3,000, which he paid for by borrowing the money from family. True to his independent attitude, he has been paying on that furnace loan every month and will finally pay it off next month.

This fall, Perry again had the heater repaired, costing him “a couple 100 bucks.”

However, during that small repair, he was informed that the furnace chamber had cracked, and it needed to be replaced.

That is when he called Right Now Heating & Air and found out it would cost $6,000 for a new furnace. With financing it would mean a $79 payment each month. After trying to find a way to handle the payment and still have enough money for food or doctor visits, Perry reached out to veteran Robertta Matulis, the Eastern Idaho community resource specialist with the Idaho Division of Veteran Services. He was looking for any options there might be to get the furnace replaced that he hadn’t already explored.

Besides needing to stay warm, Perry has a severe condition of diminished lung capacity and depends on oxygen to breathe. He was concerned the cracked furnace might leak carbon monoxide, endangering his health and life. He had no option but to replace the furnace and yet he couldn’t make it work with his budget.

Matulis, after hearing his situation, immediately called Mitzi Cheldelin, Idaho Division of Veteran Services state director. Turns out Cheldelin knew the perfect person to contact — the general manager of Right Now Heating & Air in Caldwell, Dan Nelson. A veteran himself, Nelson has helped vets before. In fact, he was about to contact Cheldelin about doing more veteran assisted giveaways before the winter set in. He jumped at the chance to assist Perry and contacted their local manager Bryden Frisk.

Frisk and his team immediately contacted Perry and assessed his furnace situation. Within days they were back to replace the furnace for free. In an interview, Perry repeatedly commented on Frisk’s “nice, thoughtful and informative” manner that communicated concern and respect. It touched and calmed his independent heart.

Perry is a humble, appreciative and self-sufficient veteran who is honored to have served his country as an Army infantryman and door gunner in Vietnam. When the war ended in 1975, Perry worked the next 40 years in the construction business until he fell and lost the use of his right lung.

Currently Perry enjoys living near family in rural Bingham County — listening to the crickets and birds and watching the passing traffic by day and the stars by night. He is grateful each day that he has the breath to live.

Now, thanks to the Idaho Division of Veteran Services and Right Now Heating & Air, he is also grateful for a warm and safe home.