Help the Paxton Family Recover from Hurricane Ian

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this message finds you and yours safe, healthy and happy! Not sure how many of you are aware, but our dear friends, the Paxtons, were hit hard by Hurricane Ian, which devastated their hometown of North Port and surrounding areas of Florida's southwest coast.

The family sustained lots of damage to their properties (they’ve had three homes on the same street in North Port for decades). They have some unbelievably high insurance deductibles and other unexpected storm-related expenses piling up on them. They are such amazing friends to so many of us and truly need us to come together and assist them in their time of need.

There is no question that if the roles were reversed, they would be here helping any of us. I know I can count on you all to help me share this page with anyone you think would be willing to help. Bill Medley and I will proudly get the ball rolling with the first donations. I asked for a breakdown of all they expect to pay for out-of-pocket, and on the conservative side, it’s in the neighborhood of $30,000.

Brooks and Di live on a fixed retirement budget, and I’m not sure what this close family will do without our help. Thank God we don’t have to figure that out because here we are, coming to the aid of our dear friends. I feel certain many of us will want to help, so I am trying to share this with as many of you as possible.

In closing, I love you all and cherish our friendships. You guys take care of each other and hold your loved ones tight. I hope our paths cross again in the near future. Now, I’d like to turn it over to Di & Brooks’ sons, Sean and Brooks II, for an update on what they went through and are dealing with moving forward.

Thank You Bucky, and all those taking the time to read this response and update on behalf of our parents and family affected by Hurricane Ian.

When Bucky first reached out in the aftermath of this event with an idea of helping in this way, we were reluctant. However, with his urging, we took an honest and humble look at the reality of what we went through and are now facing on the road to recovery.

The adrenaline is just now wearing off from those immediate weeks of survival, emergency repair and clean-up. Now, with some time to reflect and look forward, we realize it makes no sense to let our family pride prevent others’ willingness to help.

Bucky - you’re right. It’s a lot to deal with. Suddenly and all at once. Especially now with our focus and energy shifting to the unforeseen financial impacts of this event. The challenges have compounded because all our homes sustained simultaneous wind and water damage in the hurricane. Externally and internally.

As a result, we’ll be facing financial fallouts in multiples of three. High insurance deductibles, repair and replacement for uninsured losses to property and personal effects, furniture, work equipment, vehicles, and loss of income.

While we face these challenges, our thoughts remain with our fellow Floridians affected by this historic natural disaster. North Port, Florida has been our adopted hometown since 1978. Three generations of our family have roots here, so it’s difficult and sad to see our neighborhood and surrounding communities hit so hard.

To friends and neighbors in the tight-knit community here on Marius Road who helped us and each other immediately following the storm. Thank you, and others who came in from Tampa and Florida’s east coast to provide critical post-storm survival supplies. Extra generators, gas, food and water. All in short or zero supply locally at that time. We’d also like to thank those who reached out to check on us before, during and after the storm, and others who mailed us food care packages. It all helped us through those tough first few weeks.

We’ll be sharing updates as our recovery progresses from here, but in the meantime, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to everyone for your time, your caring thoughts, prayers, and your support. Every bit of that matters and makes a difference. We’re fortunate and blessed to have so many good people in our lives.

All the best from us and ours to you and yours,

Diane Paxton, Brooks Paxton Sr., Sean Paxton, Brooks Paxton II, Tom Larkin