Menu
Snow cone king teaches cancer a lesson in tenacity
McCOOK, Neb. — He’s a McCook cultural icon. He’s a story weaver. He’s a snow cone dealer. He’s Mr. Bill.
Camping out at Norris Park or by the pool, Bill Donze — “Mr. Bill” to most — can be seen like clockwork selling dirt-cheap snowcones and other snacks to children and adults alike from his van for over 40 years. For only a quarter, he’ll deal you a cone, some jerky, a few pixie sticks and other snacks. On Wednesdays, he gives the cones away, thanks to donations he gets from members of the community. Though he’s “gone broke a couple” times doing what he loves, he’s even been known to give treats away. He’s recognized area-wide for his patience, generosity and caring for the children’s wellbeing.
Now, the community is caring for Donze in his greatest time of need.
Donze was diagnosed in February 2025 with cancer. Bladder, back, lung, lymph nodes and possibly his thyroid. Terminal. Doctors repeatedly told him his prognosis meant he only had until August 2025 to live. But, Donze wasn’t going to take that news sitting down.
Literally.
Due to insurance coverage issues, he was no longer able to continue his physical therapy at the hospital. Because of that, and his drive to keep pushing forward, he picked up a membership at Anytime Fitness in McCook five months ago.
Someone heard about his issues with the insurance and anonymously donated money to pay for sessions with Nevayah Jones, a certified personal trainer at the gym. Jones was previously a physical therapy technician for around two and a half years.
“It buys me more time. I don’t know who it was. I’m grateful,” Donze said. “I did 16 [rounds of chemotherapy] in five months, and my low point was that I was in a wheelchair and legally blind. They shut off the chemo and everything because it was going to kill me before the cancer. And so inch by inch I built up.”
After that, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
Donze started with Jones about a month ago and they are both seeing the success of his perseverance. He was even named Member of the Month in March. He pops in seven days a week to work out on his own, and then twice a week for specialized sessions with Jones.
“My biggest sins is, I can’t get off a chair very easy, and I sure can’t get off the floor without a lot of help,” Donze laid out. “Those are the two things we’re supposed to be trying to get at. The exercise, there’s no question how much it helped. The strength that I built up from it… I was 270 and I went down to 200 in five months. Now I’ve gained back 30 pounds, and of the 30 pounds, 25 is muscle.”
Jones agrees with his view of his progress.
“He’s doing fantastic. I’ve already seen improvement in almost every session,” she said. “I’ve given him some things that he can do at home and things he can do here.”
Jones noted that Donze has become more confident in doing sessions without using his cane. He uses it on unsteady ground, such as grass, but in the gym the walking aid has become more of a “just in case”.
Donze attributes some of his success to prayer and keeping motivated. In his case, he says, he has 200 kids to hand snow cones on a daily basis. He also has his garden and making YouTube films on the donze52 channel to look forward to, as well.
“You can see the fire that he wants to continue,” Jones said. “It’s not just coming for two days a week. He’s like, ‘I want to live longer. I want to feel better.’”
Working hard at the gym is also a great time to pray and spend time with his thoughts, he said.
After August came and went, the doctors moved the goalpost to the end of 2025. Yet, here Mr. Bill thrives, still dishing out the treats from his van and improving his fitness each day. He doesn’t feel like he has cancer, he said.
Whether it’s to be an inspiration or otherwise, Jones feels like there is a reason Donze is still here.
“Everything happens for a reason,” she said. “I feel like there’s a reason that he’s still here pushing, and it warms my heart knowing that he still has that fire to fight.”