SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Navy veteran Thomas Felten has spent most of his life taking care of everyone else. Now, a valley company is stepping in to make sure he can safely take care of himself at home.
Felten, who joined the Navy while still in high school in 1958, served five years as a welder and shipfitter. A friend urged him to talk to a recruiter.
"A buddy of mine grabbed me. He says, ‘Hey, there's a recruiter in the school. Let's go join the Navy.’ So off we went and joined the Navy,” Felten said.
He went active in 1960, serving aboard ship, learning to weld and maturing quickly in uniform.
“It kind of made a little man out of you at that point,” he said. “Everybody should put a time in the service. It would do them good.”
After leaving the Navy, Felten followed in his father’s footsteps, moving into the automotive world, where his love of engines and cars became a career.
“I always wanted to be like my dad, and I went into automotive, and that's what I did,” he said.
But even after he traded ships for shop floors, Felten never stopped serving. He stayed involved with the Navy Reserve, joined the American Legion after moving to Arizona in 1981, and eventually became deeply engaged with the Patriot Guard Riders, a group that honors veterans and their families at funerals and memorials.
One of his first Patriot Guard missions left a lasting mark.
“The first one he takes me on… we interred, I think it was 27 veterans and three spouses on one day,” Felten said. “You think it's hard riding a motorcycle at low speed, try riding it when you're crying. Unbelievable. Then that got me hooked.”
Over the years, Felten rode in dozens of escorts, often flying large American flags and service flags from the back of his motorcycle.
“Oh, probably 80 to 100,” he said of the number of rides. “I still go… it's hard for me to stand, but I'm stubborn.”
These days, arthritis and mobility issues have made it impossible for him to ride, but he still shows up to stand in flag lines at gravesites when he can.
At home, however, a more private challenge has grown more dangerous: stepping over the side of a traditional bathtub to take a shower. Felten had a standard tub-shower combo with about an 18-inch step.
"I had a tub… about a foot and a half step over, and that became a challenge,” he said.
He relied on a towel bar just outside the shower for support.
His daughter, Tracey Felten, said the nightly routine became a source of anxiety for the family, worried about his safety. Tracey described her father as a man who will “trip over you to go help someone,” but who almost never asks for help himself.
That reluctance is part of what led Tracey's sister to nominate him for Showers for Heroes, a program run by USA Showers that gifts fully accessible showers to veterans and “military heroes” who need them.
Chris Hermes, CEO and founder of USA Showers, said the company dedicates a portion of every job it does to fund the program.
“Our mission is to go out there and help veterans, or we call it military heroes… one military hero, one safe shower every 200 installs,” Hermes said.
Hermes said his team reviews community nominations and then visits veterans’ homes to assess their needs and hear their stories.
When he visited Felten, one moment stood out: watching the veteran step in and out of his tub.
“The first thing he grabbed was the towel bar, and we all know that's just held in by drywall screws,” Hermes said. “One slip… at his age now, it could be dangerous.”
The upgrade will replace the high-sided tub with a low-step, walk-in shower that has secure grab bars mounted to solid backing.
“It'll be about a two and three quarter inch step in,” Hermes said. “We're putting some grab bars right there, so he actually has a grab bar, not a towel bar to grab onto.”
For Felten, the news was overwhelming.
“When they came in and told me that they were going to do that, it was just very, very humbling,” he said. “I was always the one giving, and I never expected anything back. And to get this, it's really… it's great, could help me a lot.”
The new shower is not just about comfort. It’s about allowing him to safely remain in the home he loves.
Hermes, whose grandfathers both served in the military, said the program is his team’s way of saying thank you.
“You guys allow me to be a business owner,” he said of veterans. “It's land of the free, because of you guys going out there and giving us that opportunity.”
Since formalizing Showers for Heroes last November, USA Showers has completed three projects. The company hopes to grow enough to fund a free safety shower every month — or even every week.
For Felten and his family, this one is enough. It’s a safer step, a smaller risk and a reminder that after a lifetime of service, sometimes it’s OK to let others carry the load.
You can nominate a veteran or service member to receive a renovation by going to the Showers for Heroes nomination page.
