Meredith American Legion member shaves head, beard to raise funds for friends' cancer treatment

LACONIA — Bob O’Neill might have looked a bit like Santa Claus at one point, but that all drastically changed on Super Bowl Sunday at the High Octane Saloon, when he decided to ditch the long hair and beard for a clean-shaven look to raise funds — about $7,000 — for friends battling cancer.

O’Neill, the cemetery sexton for the Meredith Department of Public Works, served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1979 to 1983, and has long been a member of American Legion Post 33 in Meredith. For the past several years, he has shaven his head to raise money for the Christmas party at Legion, a family-oriented occasion with cookies and gifts for kids to enjoy, and O’Neill dressed as Ol’ Saint Nick.

The first year he did it, he raised about $3,000. Despite a bit of an off year last winter, he raised about $1,100. He wasn’t sure if he would do it this year, but then heard about two people associated with the Legion being treated for stage 4 cancer, who needed all the help they could get.

“First, I hear about my dear friends Jeff and Brenda Wyatt’s granddaughter, Abby [Sharman]. And a couple days later I found out that my friend Kelly Stockton’s spouse, Tammy, was diagnosed,” O’Neill said.

O’Neill said he and some Legion members were at Cheers at the Weirs on Christmas, and ideas started sparking.

“I said, 'What if I do this instead of the kids Christmas party this year?'” O’Neill said. “My God, the costs are just incredible. I had no idea. The medication, the transportation and appointments. They’re at the doctor basically every day.”

O’Neill enlisted the help of other Legion members, friends, and Post 33 Finance Officer Melissa Dever, who was the one tasked with the shaving. The group contacted High Octane to host the spectacle. The Feb. 8 event was live streamed on the American Legion Post 33 Facebook page, and funds were raised through a crowdfunding campaign and donation bucket.

As people were enjoying their pre-game snacks and beverages at the popular bar before the Super Bowl, O’Neill told the crowd this was a small way to help his friends navigate their ordeals. He thanked the patrons there cheering him on and giving him playful ribbing leading up to the shave.

“Once again, the whole Weirs Beach area, I’ve never seen a better place on the face of the Earth as far as giving goes,” O’Neill said before he sat down in the barber’s chair.

To say people had fun for a good cause would be an understatement, as O’Neill said Dever has a “wicked sense of humor,” and not only shaved his head and beard, but took it a step further by auctioning off the waxing of his eyebrows. Right before the waxing O’Neill joked about how painful it was going to be. It took several tries on each brow, but they got what they could, and the entire bar was in hysterics.

“It hurt,” O’Neill said with a laugh. “But you know, in the end, we raised a lot of money. We did about $2,300 at the High Octane, just from spectators. There were 80 to 100 people there, and a bunch watching online.”

Counting another $4,000 in the online donations, and other donations received privately, O’Neill raised more than $7,000, which is being split between the two families.

“This has always been an amazing community,” O’Neill said. “When I got out of the service, I was determined to not only move to New Hampshire, but to be in Meredith. This community does so much for one another.”

O’Neill thanked John and Donna Turner, and their daughter Alicia, for letting them use the High Octane Saloon for the fundraiser.

O’Neill said it is heartwarming to help his dear friends who are going through such a hard time. While he doesn’t know Abby well, he remembers the now 22-year-old coming to Christmas parties as a child. He called her parents Jeff and Brenda “dear friends,” and said they are always raising money for other people in need.

“Kelly and Tammy, as well,” O’Neill said, noting they have helped raise money for displaced fire victims, the humane society and veterans programs over the years.

“They are people who are the first ones to jump up and help. They are giving people, and it just breaks my heart with them being on the receiving end.”

Further donations can be sent to American Legion Post 33, P.O. Box 566, Meredith, NH 03253.