She's never met them, but she's compelled to help

Anne Honan never knew Air Force Tech Sgt. William H. Jefferson Jr.

She's never met his widow, who lives 900 miles away from Honan's Bartlett home.

Yet Honan found herself unable to shake the news of Jefferson's death in Afghanistan. Thinking of the Norfolk, Va., native, his pregnant wife back home, the couple's daughter and Jefferson's thwarted plans to finish his master's degree and become a teacher, kept Honan up at night.

One of those nights, she had an epiphany. She woke up her husband, Steven, and said she had to do something to help Jefferson's family.

"I always felt so helpless … but when this came up, I felt really compelled to help," Honan said. "I don't even know why."

She soon had little time to ponder why. She recruited her family to help pull together a fundraiser for Jefferson's widow Kristy in Fayetteville, N.C., their 8-year-old daughter and the newborn daughter born on Mother's Day, weeks after Jefferson's March 22 death at age 34 from an improvised explosive devise.

A wine-tasting and live auction are planned for June 1 at Top Shelf Wine and Spirits in South Elgin.

"Obviously, I can't replace her husband of 15 years. I just want her to know how much I appreciate the sacrifice he made for his country. There's no way we can ever repay (it)," Honan said. "I just want her to know she's not alone, and even strangers … are thinking and praying for her."

Honan, a 53-year-old interior designer, does have an indirect link to Jefferson: Blake Weitzel, a 24-year-old Pittsburgh native who's been dating her daughter Megan for two years.

Weitzel, now in Iraq, is in the 21st Special Tactics Squadron based at Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina. That was also Jefferson's unit, and where a memorial service was held for him on March 26.

The two were among the estimated 360 combat controllers in the U.S. military, and Weitzel considered Jefferson a mentor. Combat controllers are specially trained to provide the link between air and ground forces. They enter battle areas to direct airstrikes, control air traffic and set up drop zones.

As the mother of five daughters, Honan said many boyfriends have come and gone over the years. But Weitzel's attitude, and his service to his country, have "really affected our family deeply," she said.

"I've never met a young man that's so committed," she said. "He's not a psycho-military person. He's really committed and very patriotic about his country, and all the guys in his unit are like that."

And when she got a call from her daughter Megan, in tears over Jefferson's death, there was a moment when Honan thought Megan was about to tell her Weitzel had been killed.

"I feel like I was almost doing (the fundraiser) for Blake, if something were to happen to him," Honan said.

Megan Honan said the other wives and girlfriends of the 21st are like family, though they may not see each other regularly. The 24-year-old makeup artist lives near Jefferson's widow in North Carolina. Weitzel sends Megan e-mails from the front, though she doesn't know his exact location because it's classified.

But he's well aware of the fundraiser for his friend.

"He is just so thrilled about (it)," Megan Honan said. "He thinks it's the most amazing thing ever."

The Honans are looking for cash donations and checks made out to Jefferson's family. Anne Honan hopes to go to North Carolina to deliver the donations to Jefferson's widow personally. She wants the public to cast their political agendas aside and help.

"There's so much negatively, I wanted to do something that positive," Honan said. "It doesn't matter if you support the war."

Added her daughter Anne Marie O'Connor, who's helping organizer the fundraiser and is married to Elgin firefighter Pete O'Connor: "This could be anybody. This could be anybody's mother, daughter, whatever. We just felt like we had to do something."

If you go

What: Wine Tasting Live Auction to benefit the family of Air Force Tech Sgt. William H. Jefferson Jr., who died in Afghanistan in March

When: 6-9 p.m., June 1

Where: Top Shelf Wine and Spirits, 240 Randall Road, South Elgin

Cost: $50

To buy tickets, donate or get info: Contact organizer Anne Honan at (630) 483-8325 or annehonaninteriors@yahoo .com