- Nov 10, 2002
- 9,206
- 3,792
- 113
- 71
- State / Prov
- Ontario
a week ago yesterday (Monday), a tragic fire claimed the lives of Monika Woerlen, her 7 children, and her yet unborn 8th child.
It was the kind of sheer and utter calamity, that few, if any of us, could ever imagine, the kind of devastation that wiped out an entire family, in one fell swoop, and left a shaking, God fearing father, and the rest of the family, in a place where NONE of us should ever have to go!
The autopsies were held in Hamilton, and the results pronounced that Monika, and her children, all died as a result of smoke inhalation, from a fire that appears to have begin in the livingroom fireplace, in their 100 year old home.
As preparations began, to arrange the massive effort for funeral services for the lives that were lost, in West Lincoln, 8 Hamilton and area FTD florists spearheaded an immediate offer to create, and deliver all the family floral work, free of charge...and as the remaining family pondered the expenses, and scope of what to do next, a decison was made to have THREE (3) caskets, one for Monika, one for the 3 lost sons, and one for the 4 lost daughters.
Within less than 12 hours after that decison, enough financial support, was raised, so that ALL the expenses of the funeral, PLUS EIGHT caskets, plus ALL the burial plots were donated by a grieving community.
Over 50 floral pieces, INCLUDING 8 casket sprays, were delivered to the Tallman Funeral Home in Vineland,on the FIRST TRIP, many of those pieces from one of the local florist shops in Vineland, and a call was made to our local radio station headquarters in Hamilton, Ontario.
The visitation began last week, as thousands of mourners passed through the funeral home to pay their respects to a wonderfully warm, and giving family, a family with a great belief in God, and His miracles in life, AND death, and more than a thousand MORE, turned out for the funeral services in St.Catharines, the following day.
Within ONE day of that call to the radio station hq, the FANTASTIC staff, of 900 CHML, Y108, and Country 95, sprang into action, and organized a Woerlen Family Trust idea, and presented the idea, uncomfortably, to the remaining Woerlen Family members, whom gratefully accepted the activity to happen.
What followed next, was astounding...YESTERDAY MORNING, at just before 5:00 am, the radio crew set up an OUTDOOR donation centre on the radio station parking lot, and at 5:20 am, the FIRST DONATION was made.
By last night, around 9:00 pm, all these beautiful people, of Hamilton, and ALL around us, some of whom literally DROVE IN from places like LONDON,Ontario, Barrie, Toronto, AND Niagara Falls, managed to donate OVER 112,000.00 DOLLARS, to build a memorial playground next to the school. at which 4 or 5 of the Woerlen Children attended, AS WELL AS, the property OWNER, of the land NEXT to the school, donated ALL the necessary land, to make this a reality, as well as contractors, suppliers trade builders, and concrete companies, ALL DONATED their equipment, time, labour, and overhead....what an absolutely UNBELIEVABLE outpouring, from the most GIVING CITY in CANADA....HAMILTON, Ontario.
All this happened,(I've been told) because 8 FTD Florists sprang into action, and perhaps planted this seed of generosity.
I believe this would have happened ANYWAY...what a tremendously giving community, what a huge tragedy, what a tearful outcome.....
It was the kind of sheer and utter calamity, that few, if any of us, could ever imagine, the kind of devastation that wiped out an entire family, in one fell swoop, and left a shaking, God fearing father, and the rest of the family, in a place where NONE of us should ever have to go!
The autopsies were held in Hamilton, and the results pronounced that Monika, and her children, all died as a result of smoke inhalation, from a fire that appears to have begin in the livingroom fireplace, in their 100 year old home.
As preparations began, to arrange the massive effort for funeral services for the lives that were lost, in West Lincoln, 8 Hamilton and area FTD florists spearheaded an immediate offer to create, and deliver all the family floral work, free of charge...and as the remaining family pondered the expenses, and scope of what to do next, a decison was made to have THREE (3) caskets, one for Monika, one for the 3 lost sons, and one for the 4 lost daughters.
Within less than 12 hours after that decison, enough financial support, was raised, so that ALL the expenses of the funeral, PLUS EIGHT caskets, plus ALL the burial plots were donated by a grieving community.
Over 50 floral pieces, INCLUDING 8 casket sprays, were delivered to the Tallman Funeral Home in Vineland,on the FIRST TRIP, many of those pieces from one of the local florist shops in Vineland, and a call was made to our local radio station headquarters in Hamilton, Ontario.
The visitation began last week, as thousands of mourners passed through the funeral home to pay their respects to a wonderfully warm, and giving family, a family with a great belief in God, and His miracles in life, AND death, and more than a thousand MORE, turned out for the funeral services in St.Catharines, the following day.
Within ONE day of that call to the radio station hq, the FANTASTIC staff, of 900 CHML, Y108, and Country 95, sprang into action, and organized a Woerlen Family Trust idea, and presented the idea, uncomfortably, to the remaining Woerlen Family members, whom gratefully accepted the activity to happen.
What followed next, was astounding...YESTERDAY MORNING, at just before 5:00 am, the radio crew set up an OUTDOOR donation centre on the radio station parking lot, and at 5:20 am, the FIRST DONATION was made.
By last night, around 9:00 pm, all these beautiful people, of Hamilton, and ALL around us, some of whom literally DROVE IN from places like LONDON,Ontario, Barrie, Toronto, AND Niagara Falls, managed to donate OVER 112,000.00 DOLLARS, to build a memorial playground next to the school. at which 4 or 5 of the Woerlen Children attended, AS WELL AS, the property OWNER, of the land NEXT to the school, donated ALL the necessary land, to make this a reality, as well as contractors, suppliers trade builders, and concrete companies, ALL DONATED their equipment, time, labour, and overhead....what an absolutely UNBELIEVABLE outpouring, from the most GIVING CITY in CANADA....HAMILTON, Ontario.
All this happened,(I've been told) because 8 FTD Florists sprang into action, and perhaps planted this seed of generosity.
I believe this would have happened ANYWAY...what a tremendously giving community, what a huge tragedy, what a tearful outcome.....
