Community rallies to give hospice patient a 'last smile' with John Deere parade

SHIOCTON, Wis. (WLUK) — According to his family, Niles Kettner’s blood runs green – John Deere green, to be exact.

Kettner, a former Shiocton farmer battling dementia and cancer, is a patient at Moments Hospice and doesn’t have much time left.

“I asked his great-grandson and granddaughter, ‘What would make him smile?’ since I’m all about making people happy right to the end. They said, ‘He’d love to see some John Deere tractors,’” explained Heidi Tisdale, a nurse case manager with Moments Hospice.

Tisdale posted on Facebook, asking if anyone had “anything John Deere that they/we can drive down the street” in hopes of organizing a mini parade for Kettner.

“It started off with me in a John Deere hat and two tractors. And then this evolved,” Tisdale said. “It’s pretty amazing how the community has stepped up – people who don’t even know him. It fills your heart and soul that there’s still good people out there.”

Around 40 tractors participated in Kettner’s parade on Wednesday, helping give the John Deere enthusiast the “last smile” Tisdale and his family hoped for.

Emie Phillips, Kettner’s granddaughter, said she was “overwhelmed” by the community’s response.

“Never in a million years did I think it was going to be this big. I look around and I don’t even know 90% of these people. It’s amazing,” Phillips said. “Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who came out to do this for my grandpa today. It means a lot to us all.”