‘Joe D’ plans to walk from Buffalo to Canton

By Tom Reed

The Plain Dealer

BEREA

Former Browns offensive lineman Joe DeLamielleure has never been afraid to go to great lengths for a charitable cause.

Four years ago, the Hall of Fame guard bicycled 2,000 miles to Mexico to generate money for an orphanage. That spirit of giving is fueling another long-distance trek next month.

The 62-year-old will walk 213 miles from suburban Buffalo, where he began his career with the Bills, to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. The journey is to raise awareness and money for children in need of prosthetics.

Inducted into the hall in 2003, DeLamielleure returns for enshrinement ceremonies every summer. He’s frequently asked by the people of Canton if he’ll be back next year, and his common response is, “even if I had to walk back.”

The phrase and DeLamielleure’s charitable nature are at the heart of the ‘Joe D: Pounding the Pavement for Prosthetics’ walk which starts at Buffalo Bills’ Ralph Wilson Stadium on July 10. The plan is to walk about 20 miles per day en route to Canton. Former Bills teammates will be among those who log the first few miles alongside him while Joe Horrigan, the HOF vice president of communications and exhibits, will walk the final miles with DeLamielleure.

“When I played in the East-West Shrine Game in (1973), I was given a plaque that read: ‘Strong legs run so that weak legs may walk,’ ” said DeLamielleure, who played for the Browns from 1980-84 as part of a 13-year career. “That saying always stuck with me. I had no idea what people went through to get prosthetics and how costly they were.”

Within the past six months, the Charlotte, N.C., resident has befriended 20-year-old Joey Funderburk, who was born in Romania without legs because of a rare birth defect. Funderburk had been walking on the same prosthetics since age 8, and they could barely support his adult weight, leading to dangerous falls.

His insurance company initially denied claims to purchase a new set of legs. The enterprising Funderburk began selling doughnuts from a stand that he would set up in front of stores in the Charlotte and Rock Hill, S.C., areas to raise the $120,000 required.

Publicity from his plight led to donations and also earned him an appearance on The Doctors, a daytime syndicated television show, where he took his first steps on his new prosthetics in December. Funderburk is doing promotional work for the company that designed the legs, further defraying cost to the family.

His mother, Chrystal, founded the non-profit charity Grace’s Lamp last year and enlisted the support of DeLamielleure. The charity assists other families with children in need of prosthetics and also deals with adoptions, missions and medical needs. DeLamielleure is a Grace’s Lamp board member.

“This is a young man who was brought to this country by his adoptive mother,” said DeLamielleure, who counts two adopted kids among his family’s six children. “He couldn’t walk, he couldn’t speak a word of English and now look at him.”

Proceeds from DeLamielleure’s walk will benefit Grace’s Lamp. For more information log onto graceslamp.org.