Rodney DeLorm has become somewhat of a celebrity of late at the M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center, a skilled-nursing facility in Canandaigua where he has lived since January 2022. Staff members pop into his room, eager to see his copy of the August issue of a magazine called “Classic Truck Performance” and to talk about a special truck restored in his honor.

DeLorm, who lived in Sodus for many years, was a carpenter and owned the Blue Moon Tavern in Lyons with his wife, Patty. He purchased a 1950 Chevy 3100 Stepside in 1997 with the hopes of one day getting it back on the road. Between the house and the business, he never quite had enough money to devote to the project, storing the truck in his pole barn. 

Grandson and fellow car enthusiast Max DeLorm – a 2008 graduate of Wayne Central – spent a lot of time behind the wheel of the truck as a child, pretending to drive it. In 2013, he pur-chased it from his grandfather.

“I sold it to him and he went bonkers with the restoration,” Rodney said. “I think it’s kind of amazing. I never could have done what he did.”

Max is an emergency room nurse now living in Boca Raton, Florida. It was money made as a traveling nurse during the pandemic that made it possible for him to fulfill his grandfather’s dream. 

He said one of the best memories in his life will be the time in July 2022 that he surprised his grandpa with the truck, and the two took it to the Syracuse Nationals, garnering lots of attention from visitors to the three-day car show and winning a trophy. 

“It was worth every overtime shift and travel nurse assignment I took during COVID!” Max said.

The five-page article in Classic Truck Performance is called “In the Name of the (Grand)father” and it includes several professional photos of the truck, which has a patina finish.

 “I’m proud of my grandson,” Rodney said. “He’s made me very happy.”