DANVERS - Dozens of vehicles lined the road around the Denzer family farm on Sunday, and spring cleaning was the order of business for about 100 farmers and friends of Adam Denzer. | Photo Gallery

His father Wally's hog farm, which has been in the family since 1885, needed to be prepared for spring. Adam's widow, Marie, watched friends in a forklift clearing debris, her eyes welling with tears as the work went on around her.

"It's so amazing that everyone wants to help, and this is their way of helping in one way or another," she said. "I don't even know where to begin to thank most of these people."

Adam, who worked on the farm and was a dispatcher for the buses of the Unit 5 school district, was found with no sign of life by Marie early on Jan. 23.

He had spent the night helping with the birthing of four piglets. Authorities said his clothes became entangled on a spinning drive shaft between a grinder-mixer and a tractor. McLean County Coroner Beth Kimmerling said Adam Denzer died from asphyxiation. He was 43.

Included among the helpers at the farm Sunday were several Normal Community High School athletes and bus drivers. Adam Denzer had been a regular at the NCHS and Normal Community West games, and bus drivers may have known him through his work as a Unit 5 dispatcher.

Family friend John Robb of Morton stood next to Marie and proclaimed that he had helped bring her and Adam Denzer together. Marie, 24 at the time, was dancing with an older man at a nightclub when Robb encouraged Adam, who was 30, to dance with her.

"He said, 'You're not going to let that old man dance with that lovely lady, are you?'" recalled Traci Freitag of Carlock, a friend of the Denzers, as she comforted Marie.

Like Marie, Wally Denzer was in awe of the help he received. "Awesome," was the only word, other than "wonderful," that he used to describe the assistance.

Andy Jones of Colfax, who along with his wife, Robyn, helped to organize the helping day, noted how some volunteers had earlier spotted a cardinal flying above the farm. It reminded some that Adam was a fan of the St. Louis Cardinals.

"Everybody's saying that's him, flying around, watching us," he said. "It really tears at your heartstrings."

Andy Jones said he was grateful to the people who spent the day assisting.

"We couldn't have done it without them," he said. "That's why you live in a community like this. We're an hour and a half ahead of schedule."

Robyn Jones brought the food for those who assisted, including sloppy joes, fried chicken, chips and Pepsi products.

Adam frequently drank diet Pepsi and ate candy, said Jackie Dellamano of Bloomington, who drove Unit 5 buses for three years. She told how Adam regularly gave up soda and sweets for Lent and became a bit cranky in the process.

"We would tease him about it," she said. "He was a bear. It was like, 'Give that man a diet Pepsi.'"

He also gave candy to students who came to the transportation office.

NCHS Athletic Director Andy Turner reminisced about attending last year's Indianapolis 500 with Adam. Turner's daughter, Brittany, 10 at the time, was a Danica Patrick fan. When it appeared she might win the race, Adam put Brittany on his shoulders so that she could get a better view to cheer her on.

Chad Hinshaw, 17, was among the NCHS baseball players who helped move the four pigs born on the morning of Adam's death to an outside pen, as well as 17 other pigs born a few weeks earlier.

Hinshaw remembered Adam as a humble supporter of the school's sports teams.

"He would come to events and it wasn't like he wanted people to notice him," Hinshaw said. "He just stood where he could watch the game. It wasn't like he wanted people to be like, 'he's the No. 1 fan.'"

Despite Adam's humility, many remember him as very social.

"Adam knew everybody," Robb said. "If he didn't know you, and you were in the same place he was, you knew him before you left."

Burt Popejoy of Atlanta, who was Adam's boss in the Unit 5 transportation office and a close friend, said that Adam was "close to everybody.

"Look at all these people, Popejoy said, scanning the farm. "That's a testament to the man himself. He was awesome. That's all I know. He meant the world to me. He was like a brother to me.

"See," he said, rolling up his sleeve, to reveal an orange plastic bracelet that read, "In memory of Adam."