Maysville Fire Victims Need Help!
Donation protected
In the early morning hours of Tuesday, October 20, an apartment fire in Maysville, Kentucky, took the lives of five people, including a mother, Lori Doppleheuer, and three of her chilren. The story has appeared in national news media and may already be familiar to you. You may have heard the names of the victims, and perhaps even the names of some survivors. In the flurry of news reports, you likely heard mention of Lori's boyfriend, who was listed as the father, but you probably didn't hear the name Chris Kearney.
Last Wednesday, Chris, who lives in another state, received the devastating news that he would never again see his beloved 10-year-old son Christopher, who died of smoke inhalation during the deadly fire. He also learned that 7-year-old Makayla, Chris's other child with his ex-wife, with whom he shared joint custody, survived the fire, but that she had been placed in temporary custody with her maternal grandmother. He discovered, in fact, that local officials were unaware of his existence.
Chris, a former Marine and Iraqi War veteran, immediately made the trek to Maysville with his wife and their other children. There he has had the heartbreaking task of not only grieving for his firstborn, but fighting for custody of a little girl who is rightly his, a fight that is an extension of his ongoing struggle to maintain the access to his son and daughter that was granted to him in a court of law. Chris also learned that
the funds from another gofundme campaign, intended for the funeral costs of Lori and her children, have been withheld from covering the costs for young Christopher.
Chris and his family are emotionally and financially devastated, and they need our help. Chris is now facing significant expenses to cover the funeral, the cost of transporting Christopher's body to be buried close to them, and legal fees associated with Makayla's custody. Additionally, he will soon be faced with the costs of providing ongoing counseling for Makalya so she can have the best possible chance of working through her grief and gaining a stable life in the midst of confusion and upheaval. The funeral costs alone come to approximately $5,000. We are trying to raise as much as possible to help them offset this sizeable financial setback.
Chris and his family are giving everything that they have emotionally and financially just to bring Makayla home and bury his little boy. Their perserverance in the face of this overwhelming tragedy is beyond admirable, but they are hanging by a thread. Please donate to help them recover from this devastating blow and prevent this heartbreaking story from having an even more tragic ending.
Last Wednesday, Chris, who lives in another state, received the devastating news that he would never again see his beloved 10-year-old son Christopher, who died of smoke inhalation during the deadly fire. He also learned that 7-year-old Makayla, Chris's other child with his ex-wife, with whom he shared joint custody, survived the fire, but that she had been placed in temporary custody with her maternal grandmother. He discovered, in fact, that local officials were unaware of his existence.
Chris, a former Marine and Iraqi War veteran, immediately made the trek to Maysville with his wife and their other children. There he has had the heartbreaking task of not only grieving for his firstborn, but fighting for custody of a little girl who is rightly his, a fight that is an extension of his ongoing struggle to maintain the access to his son and daughter that was granted to him in a court of law. Chris also learned that
the funds from another gofundme campaign, intended for the funeral costs of Lori and her children, have been withheld from covering the costs for young Christopher.
Chris and his family are emotionally and financially devastated, and they need our help. Chris is now facing significant expenses to cover the funeral, the cost of transporting Christopher's body to be buried close to them, and legal fees associated with Makayla's custody. Additionally, he will soon be faced with the costs of providing ongoing counseling for Makalya so she can have the best possible chance of working through her grief and gaining a stable life in the midst of confusion and upheaval. The funeral costs alone come to approximately $5,000. We are trying to raise as much as possible to help them offset this sizeable financial setback.
Chris and his family are giving everything that they have emotionally and financially just to bring Makayla home and bury his little boy. Their perserverance in the face of this overwhelming tragedy is beyond admirable, but they are hanging by a thread. Please donate to help them recover from this devastating blow and prevent this heartbreaking story from having an even more tragic ending.
Organizer and beneficiary
Emily Rowe Underwood
Organizer
Maplewood, MO
Christopher Kearney
Beneficiary