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The Cascades Tissue Group in Rockingham will hold a benefit luncheon to help a local man with expenses incurred because of a lung transplant.

John Taylor, born in Lumberton, was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis in 2004 and was put on the donor recipient list at Chapel Hill Hospital at the University of North Carolina.

He finally received a lung transplant on March 3.

He is a retired U.S. First Sergeant with the Army and has been married to Pat Taylor for more than 40 years.

He has two sons and one daughter and he currently resides in Cordova. One of Taylor’s sons, Shane Taylor, has been an employee for Cascades for more than 10 years. Shane is married to Tonda Taylor, also an employee for Cascades.

The lunch will be on March 13 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Cascades Tissue Group parking lot located at 805 Midway Road, Rockingham. The plates will cost $6 and will include grilled chicken, macaroni and cheese, baked beans and a roll. Desserts and drinks will be sold separately.

Shane said there will be a few tables set up outside for people who want to eat there. In case of rain, meals will be served in the Converting Break Room and carry out plates can be picked up in the lobby of the main office.

“It’s great. Every little penny helps,” Shane said.

There will also be half and half tickets sold and a raffle for various Cascade Tissue products. These drawings will be held towards the end of the fundraiser.

The proceeds will go towards travel costs, housing and pre and post transplant medications. John, who will get out of the hospital in three weeks, will have to live in Chapel Hill for three months after he is released, according to Shane. Shane said that his dad will have three to four doctor appointments a week and the doctors want John close by in case anything goes wrong with the transplant.

Personal donations can be made by sending a tax-deductible donation to the National Foundation for Transplants, North Carolina Transplant Fund, In Honor of John Taylor, 5350 Poplar Avenue, Suite 430, Memphis TN 38119. Donations can also be made at www.transplants.org.

— Staff Writer Laura Edington can be reached at 910-997-3111, ext. 18, or by email at ledington@civitasmedia.com.