Jo and Leo Bjorholm are in Iowa today. Last week they packed their belongings into two vehicles and a trailer and Friday morning they started driving east toward their new home and their new life.

Last Thursday night the Bjorholms held court in a booth at Steer 89, with a monsoon rain falling outside, while a steady stream of the many friends they’ve made during their 14 years in Page, came by to wish them well on their upcoming journey and the new chapter in their lives.

Two of the well-wishers were Bonnie Ekis and Chris Mauger.

“Jo and Leo have done so much for this community,” said Pease. “They always put others first, instead of themselves, and I wanted to be sure they knew we appreciated all they’ve done for us.”

The Bjorholms departure will leave a very big void in the community. Jo and Leo started the Cancer Outreach Program in Oct. 2010, when Jo made it her business to help a friend who had cancer meet some of her financial needs.

From that first act of caring turned into a seven year gesture of service and involvement.

“My friend Jaquie had stage 5 lung cancer, and she wracked up a whole lot of expenses traveling to chemo treatments,” Jo told the Chronicle last February. “I held rummage sales to help her out.”

Even before Zachrison finished her chemotherapy treatments Jo was contacted by other people who had family or friends who were also struggling to ends meet while battling cancer.

During the seven years that Cancer Outreach has been in operation Jo and Leo have helped 77 patients. The mission of the Cancer Outreach Center has been to pay for fuel and lodging for people traveling to cancer treatments.

“The closest cancer treatment facility is in Flagstaff,” said Jo, “but we’ve had people travel to Salt Lake, Denver, Phoenix and Tucson. Then, with most treatments, they require them to stay for five days. Five days lodging gets expensive really fast.

In the last three years alone Cancer Outreach has provided $13,862 in fuel cards and $35,000 for lodging expenses.

Cancer Outreach made all its money from items donated to it which they later sold at its thrift stores. They didn’t receive any state or federal grants.

Jo made the difficult decision to close Cancer Outreach earlier this year after a recent hospital visit revealed her own health problems. Cancer Outreach closed its doors on March 31.

It was Jo’s and Leo’s declining health that also prompted their move to Iowa. A recent trip to the hospital, prompted from Leo having difficulty getting a full breath, revealed further bad news.

“We were hoping it was just pneumonia, but the doctors told us they found black masses on Leo’s lungs, that are tendrilling,” said Jo. “So, we want to be home, whether good, bad or indifferent.”

The Bjorholms will make their new home in Glidden, Iowa. They chose Glidden because it’s the stomping grounds of Leo’s youth, and both he and Jo have lots of family living nearby.

The ready availability of affordable housing in Iowa was another big selling point for the move, said Jo.

“Housing is a lot less expensive there,” said Jo. “We were able to purchase a big house with a big yard on a corner lot for the same price as a garage rents for here.”
“Iowa is home, but Page is our second home,” said Jo, “and there’s a lot we’re going to miss when we leave: The people, of course. We’ve made some wonderful friends here.
“We’ll miss potato-sausage soup at Bonkers on Saturday night. Leo and I had a standing reservation there for our Saturday date night. We’ll miss breakfast at Ranch House Grille, stopping for cookies and shakes at Jacob Lake on our way to the Grand Canyon. Even a trip to the post office can be pretty special. We run into so many people we know that a trip to get the mail can take 15 minutes or more. And, of course, we’ll miss the unique beauty of Page itself.”

The monsoon passes over. The rain stops but distant thunder is still heard outside – a sound very similar to garbage cans being rolled out onto the curb on garbage day – but the flood of friends entering Steer 89 to say goodbye to the Bjorholms doesn’t end.

John and Estelle Roberson, who used to volunteer with Jo and Leo at the Cancer Outreach Center, said their goodbyes Thursday night as well.

“It was important for us to tell them goodbye,” said John. “They are some very special people with very big hearts.  I don’t know who will take over what they did for Page. They leave behind some big shoes to be filled.”