Help Bring a Family Back Together

During the vacation of a lifetime in Europe, my mom, Leighan Cortes and my Pawpaw, Randy Meek, were killed in a terrible car accident on B31 near Freiburg, Germany.

My mom spoke of nothing but wanting to go back to visit and this was truly a once in a life time experience for her.

Leighan was a 6th grade science teacher, part of her church choir, and the mother of 6 kids, Jacey -28, Jessica - 24, Jenifer - 22, Justin -18, Jaekob - 16 and Joshua - 12 and a Mimi to 4, Lilly - 7 Rosey- 7, Alex- 5 and Willow - 7 months.

Her husband, Steve, is now a widowed father taking care of the younger boys alone. This will be an incredible feat. Of course, it is almost time for school to start and among other things, he will need to get school supplies and clothes for the two younger boys.

Randy, a retired Master Sergeant in the Army, was the backbone of our entire family and someone who accepted everyone for who they are and loved them with all he had. If anyone shared a fundraiser, he would be the first to contribute. He was truly a gift to everyone who he came in contact with. He touched SO many lives during his many years as a teacher. His wife, Kay, is left with a home to care for, along with various pets.

 Our brother, Justin, is active military (Army National Guard) and will need to come home for memorial services.
In order to get Justin home so he can start his grieving process, we must get our grandfather and mother home. It turns out this is incredibly expensive. It could be up to $10,000 each. Obviously this is a huge financial burden for a family.

Any money raised will be split between Steve and Kay in order to help ease the financial strain this will, no doubt, cause. It will also help to return our loved ones home where they belong so we can all begin to heal. We just need our family back together.