Support the England Family's Community Efforts

My name on Maria Reid. I am trying to raise funds for my Uncle and Aunt, Garrett and Janalea England.

I have debating on doing this for about a year now. So many things have happened in this family, yet they are still helping the community and working as hard as ever.

Garrett and Janalea have been together 25 years, married 19. Their first child Lillian was born in 2006, and son Garrett Jr in 2010. Their surprise baby Logan was born in 2011.

The moment Logan was born, Janalea knew something wasn’t quite right with him. The first year of his life was filled with doctor’s appointments, specialists, tests, and unanswered questions. Finally after genetic testing at Shands, he was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder. Logan had the mind and abilities of an infant. This is normal life for Janalea and Garrett, seeing as it has been their “normal” for 13 years now. Logan requires round the clock care and supervision. His body keeps getting bigger but his mind stays the same. They have excepted for his own safety he might need to be in a home one day. Despite all of this, Logan is very happy and lives his best life daily.

In 2019 Garrett and Janalea decided to, for the sake of being with Logan as much as possible, to take their chance as business owners. All went well and they opened Steinhatchee Fish Company, the name inherited from my grandparents (Janalea’s parents) Mike and Sue Smyrnios. They were so excited and motivated to continue the legacy and bring fresh, quality seafood to their little coastal community.

Their business did well, and they had plans of finishing the building and expanding as business grew. All of this was put on hold 13 months ago when category 3 hurricane Idalia landed in Taylor County. This when their building went from being a small fish market to the main hub for donations during storm recovery and cleanup. Like many other businesses in town, they struggled to stay afloat after the storm.

During this time Janalea struggled with her own medical issues. Garrett did other jobs to support his family and business.

Last month Garrett went to the hospital with severe issues. He needs scopes and biopsies. They are still waiting for Gastrointestinal to get him in so they can get some answers. He also has two hernias, a deteriorating T11 in the spine, and a kidney stone on each kidney. These things are not related to what is going on but doctors wanted him to know that he has this going on as well.

This past Thursday night Steinhatchee was his with hurricane Helene. Helene was a category 4 and has left the town devastated. Again Janalea and Garrett has opened their business up as the hub for donation distribution. Yesterday when we pulled up to bring some things, Garrett (who clearly looks like he isn’t feeling well) is out there by himself, pouring sweat, building shelves to help organize the donations. Janalea was talking to a news reporter, while answering several phone calls. They were working so hard for the little town they call home.

These funds will be used to help them with Garrett’s medical expenses as well as financial support. It will be a long time before their fish market is an actual fish market again.