Lakeville's Fred 'Candyman' Reagan is a cancer fundraising machine. Here's why he does it.

LAKEVILLE — Lakevillle resident Fred Reagan is a cancer fundraising machine.

At 78, Reagan stays sharp and stays fit by staying busy. He rides 20 miles on his stationary bike every day and is a regular at the Raynham Athletic Club.

In October, Reagan will participate in the Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk for the 17th time, and later in the fall, he anticipates hitting a major milestone in his year-round Jimmy Fund Walk fundraiser, selling candy bars from Hilliards Chocolates in Easton. Reagan estimates he will surpass the 100,000 candy bars sold mark sometime in November.

“That's why I work out seven days. I'll be 78 in July, God willing, and I do 20 miles a day on a bike,” Reagan said, while taking a short break from his daily ritual bike ride.

“I’ve got a bike that’s got only about 50 miles on the road, but I’ve got it on a stand. And I've had it now for probably about 15 years, but it's like a brand new bike.”

Joining the Jimmy Fund team

Reagan has experienced personal loss from cancer: his father was diagnosed with leukemia before passing away after a heart attack at 68, and five years ago, Reagan lost his sister to cancer.

But it was the loss of a close friend that inspired Reagan to get involved with the Jimmy Fund.

“My best friend lost his daughter-in-law to cancer. Never smoked a day in her life, died of lung cancer. And she left an 8-month-old baby behind,” Reagan said.

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Reagan’s best friend, Bob Greene, who he met decades ago as fellow employees at Sears, lost his daughter in-law Courtney Greene in October of 2006. Soon after the Greene Team, which included the old work buddies Reagan and Green, began its annual memorial tradition with the Jimmy Fund Walk.

Reagan, who was later named and still serves as captain of the Greene Team, says the group tackled the Boston-area walk for 14 years, but recently and with fewer team members, the Greene Team has found a new route on the Cape Cod Canal.

He call himself the Candyman

Around 2011, Reagan, also known to some as the Candyman, added the candy bar fundraiser to bolster the effort, taking advantage of the Hilliards Chocolate Bars for Fundraising Program. Hilliards sells the 2.25 oz chocolate bars, which come in five varieties, to the fundraiser for $1 each, with a suggested resale price of $2. Reagan sells the bars for $2 each or three for $5 and partners with 18 local businesses, at last count.

Winberg’s True Value Hardware in Lakeville was the first local business to join the fundraising effort, and Reagan said he was working with 20 local businesses before COVID hit in 2020. He’s had to reboot and restock since, but says the fundraiser is just about back to full power.

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The relationship with Winberg's Hardware began when Paul Winberg was the owner. Today, Jeff Baars is the owner, and Baars is happy to continue working with Reagan and keep the fundraiser going.

“Fred is one of the friendliest, most remarkable people I’ve met here in Lakeville since taking over the store in 2016," Baars said.

He stops by all the time to make sure we’re in stock. If we call him, he’s here in a heartbeat to restock. What can I say? He’s a true believer in the Jimmy Fund and Dana Farber, and I really just can’t say enough kind words to describe him. He’s just a wonderful individual and an absolute true believer in the works he’s doing."

And Winberg's moves a lot of candy for Reagan.

“We actually have one individual who takes his break here every day and buys one or two, sometimes three. And he never gains a pound. But everybody loves the candy bars and it’s a good cause. So it’s an easy sell."

Over the years and with a lot of help from local business owners like Winberg and Baars, Reagan’s sold a lot of candy bars and donated some big money to Dana Farber and the Jimmy Fund.

Closing in on 100,000

“In 12 years I've sold 98,000 candy bars. So, my goal is 100,000 by November. It should be no problem,” Reagan said.

“I’ve got three or four hardware stores, I’ve got a couple of liquor stores, so it's just, you know, so many nice people out there that want to help me raise money for cancer research.”

Reagan, who retired 17 years ago after a 41-year career with Sears, is looking forward to this year’s Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk. This year, the goal is to raise $20,000. To date, Reagan’s contributed more than $100,000 in donations to the cause.

He says it’s about a seven-mile walk — or 19,000 steps — which takes about seven hours, including breaks and time spent talking with well-wishers on the route. And the view is pretty nice, too.

“It's beautiful, first part of October, doesn't get much better,” Reagan said.

Taunton Daily Gazette staff writer Jon Haglof can be reached at jhaglof@tauntongazette.com. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Taunton Daily Gazette today.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Lakeville cancer: Fred 'Candyman' Reagan is a fundraising machine