A couple who at first asked to remain anonymous purchased a minivan from Dick Hannah Toyota in Washington last week to donate to Portland Police Officer Paul Meyer and family after seeing news reports about Meyer's paralysis from an on-duty accident.

"They are paying cash for it, but they'll never sit behind the wheel,'' wrote the dealership's general manager Brian Sanders, in a Facebook page account he posted on Friday. "They paid for it and asked us to title it in the name of Paul Meyer."

Meyer, a 20-year veteran of the police bureau, was paralyzed from the waist down after a 110-foot tree snapped in half and struck him in the head while he was riding a police ATV during training on Hayden Island Nov. 19. T

He said he was committed to enjoying life and adapting to his "new normal.''

Meyer was released from Legacy Good Samaritan Hospital last week, and moved into a rental transitional home Wednesday night with his wife and kids while their Tualatin house is renovated and made wheelchair accessible.

By late Saturday, Portland residents Ron Villenave, 48, and his wife, Michelle Villenave, 67, of Portland, acknowledged they were the van donors.

Ron Villenave said he has a sense of what Meyer must be dealing with today, as Villenave was shot three times as a Marine serving in Afghanistan in 2003. Villenave was wounded in the knee, hip and under his left arm. Today, he walks with a limp.

Villenave also said he recognized Meyer on news reports as the officer who took time to talk to him after pulling over his car a few years ago to arrest Villenave's passenger on a warrant.

"I'm hoping that vehicle takes some of the stress off of him,'' Ron Villenave said. "I wanted to give him some sense of freedom.''

The man and woman who paid for the van are not wealthy, Sanders said.

Ron Villenave said he retired from the Marines; his wife retired from the Navy. A year and a half ago, Ron Villenave received a modest inheritance. The couple decided to use it to buy a van, something Sanders says he has seen from time to time at his dealership.

But what stunned Sanders was their desire to buy the 2013 gray Limited Sierra van - "in the vicinity of $40,000" - for someone they barely know.

"In my more than 15 years in this business, I'm still at a loss of words,'' Sanders said Saturday. "This whole thing just has been remarkable.''

That's why Sanders, 38, decided to share the story of the Portland couple's unusual generosity.

"This short story has taken me 3 hours to write already,'' Sanders wrote

Friday, describing the surprising donation.

While Sanders wrote that the couple asked to remain anonymous, Sanders said he couldn't keep their remarkable gesture a secret.

"How amazing and inspiring are these people?" Sanders wrote. "While this couple is asking that their names not be shared, the story of their amazing generosity needs to be.''

Meyer said Saturday he spoke by phone with the couple and was overcome with emotion.

"I cried to him on the phone,'' Meyer said. Right now, the station wagon that Meyer's wife, Mary, drives isn't large enough to fit the wheelchair, Meyer and all his family, and he's unable to get up into their SUV.

"This is going to make an incredible impact in our lives,'' Meyer said. "We'll be able to go visit my wife's family in Central Oregon and go as a family. We'll be able to drive to the coast and do the things we've done as a family.''

Meyer said he promised the man and his wife that he would "pay forward this deed.''

"Right now I have to focus on my health and recovery. But I promised when opportunities arise, I'll be there for others,'' Meyer said. "His level of generosity...I almost don't feel worthy of it. It's just overwhelming.''

Sanders said he has offered to mail to the buyers all the comments the Facebook post has inspired.

Sanders and a salesman who assisted the couple plan to deliver the van to Meyer's home early next week. Sanders said he spoke by phone with Meyer and was inspired by his positive spirit and enthusiasm.

Now, Dick Hannah Toyota is offering to cover any maintenance work on Meyer's new van. The local auto shop is also partnering with national Toyota to donate $10,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project, a fund that assists wounded Marines and other service members on behalf of the Villenaves.



Ron Villenave chose the charity. He doesn't plan to stop there, though. Ron Villenave said he's hoping to gather a few Marines to help in the remodel of the Meyer home.



"He's a person I feel that deserves that,'' Ron Villenave said.



Nine hours after Sanders wrote his Facebook post, 3,588 people had written comments, touched by the couple's actions. By midnight Friday, the post drew more than 17,000 "likes.''

"I am inspired by you to be a better person,'' Lori Fechter Hall wrote. "Your generosity may be anonymous, but it has touched MANY people in addition to the injured officer and his family.''

Another simply wrote, "Bless this kind couple.''

Commenter Marilyn Denny called the couple's generosity "absolutely amazing and uplifting.''

She added, "I have become cynical and untrusting of late, you have restored my faith that there are wonderful caring people in this world.''

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