After spending his last night in his Marble Falls home June 3, 84-year-old Arthur “Art” Ganung Jr. pondered what he might do next.
“Of all the places I’ve lived, I’ve felt more comfortable here in Marble Falls than any other city. I’m getting myself out of here and up to (the motel),” he told The Highlander.
“I’m not the only person that has ever gone through this. I happened to have a big house that takes a little bit more to move this stuff.”
Ganung, who moved from Oregon nearly five years ago, bought the house in the 1200 block of Cedar with his wife Betty.
She passed away two and half years ago. Betty’s pension and Social Security stipends were an integral part of the household income.
He struggled to make the mortgage payments
“Of all the places I’ve lived,
I’ve felt more comfortable here in Marble Falls than any other city.”
—
Arthur Ganung Jr.
while receiving $1,600 a month in Social Security.
“That’s what I was living on and it became more and more difficult to make payments,” he said.
Freedom Mortgage launched final eviction proceedings in May.
Servant’s Heart
Born Jan. 28, 1939 in Washington D.C., Ganung spent his young life in a military family, living in places like Virginia, California, Oregon and eventually the Lone Star State.
His father was a major in the U.S. Air Force. As an adult, he continued his family legacy of military service.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1958 to 1962, where his responsibilities included official photography with curious assignments including capturing bomb test explosions in the South Pacific in 1962.
After serving in Japan, Taiwan and at North Island in San Diego, he left military service as an E-3.
After leaving the military, he ran his own photography business for over 30 years. Fast forward to economic crash of the 1990s and he closed his business. He sold cemetery property and then eventually sold vacuum cleaners while also running a carpet cleaning business.
“I did anything necessary to keep myself busy, but it was just one of those things that as you get older, looking for work, it gets difficult,” he said.
Considered a vibrant 86 years old, he did not consider himself a candidate for disability.
Leaving two adult daughters behind in Oregon as well as an adult son in California, he and his late wife Betty decided to move to Texas after they found their dream home – a modest 1,500 square foot, 3-bedroom home in Pecan Valley in Marble Falls.
After his wife passed he first tried to negotiate with the mortgage company and then reached out to his children.
“I was paying a small portion (of the mortgage), and it got to the point I couldn’t pay it,” he said.
“They said, ‘Sorry, we’re going to have to close this, and you’re going to have to move out.’
“I called (my children) and told them what the situation was. They said we would come but, we just don’t have the time and money to do that.”
He continued job hunting.
“I’ve tried to go out and get a job because I’m more than qualified to do a lot of stuff, but one of the first questions they ask is how old are you,” Ganung explained. “When I was first asking I was 80 and now I’m 86. They look at you like, we don’t hire people at that age.
“I could do as much or more than the ones who are doing it.”
In early May, a representative from the mortgage company informed him he would need to leave his home. A Burnet County constable served him with eviction papers.
Ganung reached out to nearby residents for help moving.
Neighbor Manny Soto coordinated a UHAUL truck and storage unit with another neighbor and Jason Dalton, who donated funds towards the truck, joined Frank Beltran and Ryan and Deborah Moore in loading up Ganung’s belongings.
Soto posted Ganung’s dilemma on social media and local residents appeared at the property immediately.
Other helpers included M. “Cajun” Danos, Yarene Garcia and Art and Ashly McGee, who works with Marble Falls VFW Post 10376, along with Jay Schutz, who assisted with emergency housing. Trish Walker of the Marble Falls Community Resource Center arranged for a Salvation Army voucher for his motel room; and other volunteers such as Gypsy MC Holly Rae and Robert Tenuto lent a hand.
“It just was a chain reaction,” said Danos. “They’re not looking for anything in return. Their hearts go out to people like this.
“There’s a lot of people around here that are just pure gold,” she added. “You know a good-hearted person when you meet them. They all show up. I’ve never been in a place like this.”
Ganung was overwhelmed by the response.
“All these helpers just came out of nowhere. I had tears in my eyes. I thanked them, shook their hands. They definitely know that they were well appreciated,” he said.
In primarily a two-day period, the group of volunteers assisted him moving much of his personal belongings and furniture into storage.
“There’s other stuff I’ve given away and thrown away,” he said.
Soto, who has been Ganung’s neighbor since he moved to the neighborhood, expressed gratitude for the community response.
“Everybody just came together to help. We had 20-30 people I’ve never met before. Everybody was just hands on,” Soto shared. “Art’s a great guy. My kids love him. He and his wife were almost grandma and grandpa. They taught my kids how to play bridge – just good people. It’s just sad.
“For somebody that age, I feel like we should have something a little more accessible to them, so they won’t have to struggle to get housing.”
Ganung expressed hope for the future as he awaits word for a possible investment payout.
“If the house is still available, I’m wanting to buy it,” he said of the house worth about $350,000. “I will see what other (military) benefits I have, too. Don’t know if I totally qualify for it.
“From there, we’ll see what the Lord has to provide.”
By June 5, volunteers had secured a place for Ganung to move into the Pecan Valley Apartments in July.
Danos added a number of people will continue to assist in the longterm.
“We’re going to see this through to the end,” she said. “We’re not going to stop until he’s in a new home.”
Organizers have set up an account with First United Bank of Marble Falls for the public to offer assistance. To donate, contribute to the Benefit Fund on behalf of Arthur Ganung Jr.
