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Joe Wurzelbacher, who gained notoriety as 'Joe the Plumber' after questioning eventual President Barack Obama during his 2008 election campaign, died Sunday (August 27) at the age of 49 following a battle with cancer, BNONews.com reports.
Wurzelbacher was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer several months prior to his death, according to his wife Katie. A fundraiser on the website GiveSendGo.com, which has raised more than $133,491 of its $200,000 goal, includes a quote Katie detailing Wurzelbacher's Stage 3 pancreatic cancer diagnosis, noting that he received treatment at the Ann Arbor VA Hospital and the University of Michigan Hospital prior to his death.
"Joe had been having stomach issues for about 3 months, which eventually became painful. On December 26th, he'd had enough of the pain and we went to the VA emergency room in Ann Arbor," Katie said. "They ran tests and performed scans which showed a mass in the head of his pancreas. The mass was restricting one of his biliary ducts, so they classified it as Stage 3 cancer. They also found that his SMV had a large blood clot. His current treatment plan is 6 months of Folfirinox chemotherapy and surgery to remove half of his pancreas and reconstruct the vein with the clot.
"The treatment has been a little tough so far. He deals with fatigue and weakness daily, which makes it hard for him to go to work. The oncologist has made adjustments to his chemo which has provided a little relief of the constant nausea he had after his first two treatments. Since all his issues and treatment began, he's lost 70 pounds.”
Wurzelbacher initially gained national attention when he questioned Obama's tax plan and whether it would pay more to small business owners during a campaign stop near Toledo, Ohio, in October 2008.
“I’m getting ready to buy a company that makes $250-280,000 a year. Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn’t it?” Wurzelbacher asked Obama at the time.
Obama told Wurzelbacher that he would have to pay more in taxes for revenue exceeding $250,000 as part of the plan, which intended to give smaller businesses a tax cut to "spread the wealth around." The encounter became a focal point for then-Republican presidential nominee John McCain, who claimed Obama had wealth-distributing, socialist views based on the policy and used 'Joe the Plumber' as a representation of the American everyman during the final presidential debate.
Wurzelbacher also made appearances alongside McCain's running mate, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, during the 2008 campaign following his viral encounter.