FARMINGTON — Employees at Farmington Ford are holding a silent auction for a longtime co-worker battling a life-threatening illness.

Chris Luce of Jay has been hospitalized at Maine Medical Center in Portland since early January, Jim White, general manager, said Tuesday.

Luce has worked 25 years as parts and warranty clerk at the car dealership on Wilton Road.

Tables of gifts along with sign-up sheets for the silent auction line the hallway from the showroom to the service department. The public is welcome to stop by the dealership and place a bid on items, White said. The highest bidders will win the item and winners will be chosen March 3.

Everything from signed baseballs to a rotisserie, handmade birdhouses and a variety of gift certificates have been donated for the auction, he said. Local businesses, including local auto part suppliers such as NAPA, Sullivan Tire, Motor Supply, Portland Glass and Farmington Towing, have made donations as have employees, he said.

A birdhouse maker heard about the auction on a local radio station and brought a half dozen birdhouses in for the auction, White said. More gifts and donations have started coming in since the auction started Monday and customers and business associates started learning of the employees effort to help Luce’s family.

“He’s in great spirits and is talking about coming back to work,” White said. Recovery is expected to take months, he added.

Luce and his wife have three children, one of whom lives with them, White said.

All proceeds from the silent auction will go directly to Luce and his family.

Monetary donations are also welcome. These may be sent to Chris Luce c/o Farmington Ford, 531 Wilton Road, Farmington, ME 04938.

abryant@sunjournal.com