Family of Keeneyville fire victim gets help from community
An impromptu clothing drive to help the family of a woman killed in a house fire last week didn't last very long.
But it didn't have to.
Marjorie Breese, whose daughter Lori Ann Breese, 37, died Monday in a Keeneyville house fire that also killed 32-year-old Steven Elliott and injured four others, said Sunday donations were more than expected.
Lori Breese left behind two children, Tiffany, 11, and Matthew, 5. Their two-story home was also destroyed in the blaze.
"Our hearts go out to everybody that gave to us," Breese said from a Best Western hotel in St. Charles, where she has stayed with the children since last Monday. "We have so much clothing we don't know what to do with it."
Monetary donations for the Breese children are also being accepted at Malone Funeral Home, 324 E. State St., in Geneva.
In addition, an education fund for Elliott's son, Pierce Elliott, who lives in Missouri, has also been established. Anyone wishing to help can call Steuerle Funeral Home in Villa Park at (630) 832-4161.
The effort to help the Breese family began when Best Western manager Mary Jane Ellis saw Breese and her grandchildren check in with her other daughter, Susan, and Susan's young daughter.
"You see someone in need and hurting and they can't express it," Ellis said. "She didn't ask for anything but the kids come in and you see them and it's just hard to describe."
The hotel gave the family a free night's stay and the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago has covered part of the room's remaining cost, Ellis said.
Ellis asked her friends and family for donations and reached out to her contacts on Facebook for additional funds. Breese also asked her own family to help the children.
The end result was 16 boxes of children's clothes and several gift cards, Breese said.
On Tuesday, the family will travel to Marjorie Breese's home in Florida to take a break, Breese said. When they return, Lori Ann's children will now stay with Susan, who is from Keeneyville, an unincorporated area near Bloomingdale.
While the family gets resettled, Bloomingdale fire officials are still investigating the cause of blaze. They confirmed last week that flames started on the porch of the home, but officials said signs still indicate the fire was an accident.
Ellis said helping the family was not a difficult choice.
"The way I was raised, I was raised Christian. I try to help people," she said. "If somebody comes in and tells you my best friend just died, what are you going to do?"
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