Help Richard Rebuild After Devastating Fire

My name is Grace Shaw (Purvis) and I am the daughter of Richard Purvis. On August 25th, our family experienced the devastating and total loss of our home in Harriman, TN on Watts Bar Lake.

While putting my three babies to sleep, I began to smell an overwhelming sense of smoke. When I opened the bedroom door, black smoke and fire quickly began engulfing the adjoining rooms. I was able to carry all three babies out at once, and we did not suffer any harm or injury. I thought my father was in the home, and by the grace of God, he was down by the property shoreline away from the burning home throughout the duration of the fire.

With much thought and consideration, I am starting this GoFundMe page on behalf of my father, who humbly refuses the help of others, even in times of tragedy. The fire consumed his entire home, the contents inside, boat, and vehicles. My father was left with only the clothes on his back.

A little backstory: We are a multi-generational military family, and my father served and dedicated his life to this great country for 20+ years in the Navy. After retiring, he wanted to continue to serve his community in some way and began a 15-year career with the National Park Service in Fredericksburg, VA. In 2020, when he started experiencing a plethora of medical issues, I found him his retirement home in Harriman, TN. Since then, he has poured blood, sweat, and tears into his home every single day. I watched as my father worked endlessly to transform his dream home into reality for four years. Every room was meticulously designed with family heirlooms and military memorabilia. His vision was to one day leave the home to his family as a lasting legacy of hard work, dedication, love, and service to our country and family.

Although that vision has been shattered and ultimately lost, I pray that God continues to give him the strength to heal and create a new vision for his family legacy.

Even if you cannot donate, please keep my family in your prayers as we replace and rebuild. Thank you for your support during this time. God bless.