'I Love You, Man': 82-Year-Old Emotionally Retires From Walmart After $100,000 Was Raised For Him On TikTok Butch Marion was working at a Maryland-area Walmart when one customer, Rory McCarty, started talking to him about his life.
By Emily Rella
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Cue the waterworks.
An 82-year-old man was finally able to retire from his position at Walmart last week thanks to a GoFundMe page that raised over $100,000 to help him.
Butch Marion was working at a Maryland Walmart when one customer, Rory McCarty, started talking to him to learn about his life.
McCarty quickly went viral on TikTok for all of his endearing videos of Marion and decided to create a GoFundMe page to help raise money for the U.S. Navy veteran, with his first video reaching over 3.3 million views.
"I wanted to help this Navy Veteran to live the remainder of his years traveling to see his kids in Florida," McCarty wrote on the GoFundMe page. "Get him off his feet for 8 hrs at a time. And do the things he would love to do that he may not be able to for financial reasons."
Other videos show the men riding ATVs together, attending church, and going out to lunch.
In one video, the two men go to a restaurant with a woman named Elizabeth Rizzo, who helped an 82-year-old Walmart worker in Arizona named Carmen Kelly retire last month, also through TikTok and GoFundMe.
Marion's fundraiser, which had an initial goal of $100,000, had reached $124,000 as of Monday morning.
As both men teared up, McCarty presented Marion with a check for $108,682, meaning Marion could now retire.
"I love you, man," McCarty told Marion.
"How do you thank somebody for something like this," Marion said emotionally. "It's almost impossible."
McCarty has been helping drive Marion around to various news stations and shows for his appearances.
According to Fox 5 Washington, the two men said they've forged a friendship "that will last for years to come."
