Jams for Jerad benefit concert to support local mechanic battling cancer

For nearly three decades, Jerad Kratzmeyer has been the mechanic many Mineola-area residents turned to when their vehicles needed repair. Now, as he faces one of the biggest challenges of his life, the community is coming together to support him.
Friends, family, fellow musicians and longtime customers will gather July 18 at the Beckham Hotel for “Jams for Jerad,” a benefit concert and auction to help Kratzmeyer as he undergoes cancer treatment.
The event will feature live music, a silent auction, a live auction and opportunities for community members to donate in support of Kratzmeyer and his family.
For organizer Amye Cox, the decision to host the benefit was easy.
“I just felt moved to do it,” Cox said. “Jerad is a friend of ours, plus he is our mechanic. I’ve known Jerad well, and I’ve known Sonya all my life. When I found out that he had cancer, I just felt moved to pay it forward and to be there and help him because it’s the right thing to do. He’s just a good guy.”
Cox said Kratzmeyer has spent years helping others without expecting anything in return.
One act of kindness has stayed with her for years. After the death of her father, the family sold his pickup truck. They later bought it back but discovered it needed repairs. Cox took the truck to Kratzmeyer, who had known her father and learned some of his trade from him.
“He blessed me by fixing my dad’s pickup truck as a gift,” Cox said.
Stories like that are common among Kratzmeyer’s friends and customers, many of whom describe him as a dependable mechanic and an even better person.
Kratzmeyer has operated his shop in the Mineola area for 26 years and said one of his biggest concerns during treatment has been the impact on his business and customers.
“More than anything, I’m hoping my customers are going to come back,” he said. “I’ve been there 26 years, and it’s going to be hard to close. I’ve already been closed two months, and I’m going to be closed three more months, so it’s going to be like a six-month deal. But I think they will.”
The support he has received from the community has been both surprising and encouraging.
“There’ve been people that I wouldn’t have thought, and then people that you would have thought that you ain’t heard from,” he said. “But it has restored a lot of my feelings toward humanity. You feel like there’s a lot more good out there than what we really see.”
Kratzmeyer said his diagnosis came as a shock.
“At 51 years old, I never been to the doctor — never,” he said. “I don’t take any medicine, don’t even hardly take Advil. In the last three or four months, I feel like a drug head almost. I’ve been so many times and taken all this medicine and done all this. It’s been crazy. It’s been a whirlwind.”
His cancer is on the back of his tongue, requiring an intensive treatment schedule that includes radiation five days a week. Doctors have prepared him for potential side effects that could make eating and speaking difficult, but Kratzmeyer remains hopeful.
“They said some people were able to work through the whole process,” he said. “I’m hoping and believing that’s what I’m going to do.”
Throughout the ordeal, Kratzmeyer said his faith has helped him carry on.
“If the Lord brings me through it, I’ll be stronger for it,” he said. “So I’m looking at it like that. If I do, it’s up to Him.”
In addition to being known as a mechanic, Kratzmeyer is also a musician and guitar player, making a music-centered fundraiser a fitting tribute.
The July 18 event will feature performances by Ron Lawson, Dale Floyd, Amye and Nelda Cox, and the band 65 dB. A silent auction will be held from 3 to 6:30 p.m., followed by a live auction at 7:30 p.m. Music will continue throughout the evening.
Organizers are also seeking auction donations and encouraging supporters to purchase VIP tables, attend the event and spread the word.
For those organizing the benefit, the event is about more than raising money. It is an opportunity to give back to a man who has spent years helping others and to remind him that he does not have to face his battle alone.
As the community gathers for an evening of music and fellowship, organizers hope “Jams for Jerad” will reflect the same generosity and kindness that Kratzmeyer has shown Mineola for years.