Ray Stilwell Fund
Donation protected
‘Everything that’s gone can be replaced’
The waters were rising, and Ray Stilwell couldn’t open his front door.
Berry’s neighbor in the Forest Lake Place condos, Stilwell had taken his pets out to his truck Sunday morning when he realized the bottom floor of his home was flooding. He came back inside to carry whatever he could upstairs.
He was wading through shin-deep water, he said, when he heard what sounded like a gunshot. Two doors in his living room had burst open, and water came rushing in. Within 30 seconds, the water rose to his waist and kept coming.
Unable to open the front door, he made his way out back and struggled through three or four feet of water until two men – he doesn’t know who – pulled him to safety.
Monday and Tuesday, Stilwell’s struggle was pulling 41 years worth of possessions and memories from his home, where a shoulder-level water mark remained on the yellow walls of his living room.
“All this stuff, yeah, it means something,” he said. “But the bottom line is it can be replaced. Everything that’s gone can be replaced.”
Allosada and the others from Fort Jackson – “the knights and the gladiators” of the drill sergeant school, Allosada said – had been a help to Stilwell he couldn’t say enough thanks for.
“Trust me, (Fort Jackson) headquarters is getting a phone call from me today, and whoever answers the phone is going to get a positive earful from me about you guys. And I know there are others,” Stilwell told Allosada. “When I think about how long and how painful it would have been for me to have to do this by myself, there’s no way.”
Note: Mr. Ray Stilwell has been one of my coworkers for over 10 years. When I heard about his loss I immediately contacted him and asked him if he had a Go Fund Me account set up on his behalf. He replied that he did not. I asked him if he would mind if I set one up for him and he agreed to let me do it for him.
As the P.E. teacher at our school, Mr. Stilwell has been so very generous to all of the students and teachers with a kind, compassionate heart. He also is a tennis coach outside of Satchel Ford and has positively impacted numberous families.
Setting this campaign up was the least I could do! Please consider supporting Mr. Stilwell by donating and sharing the link. The money donated will go to replacing lost items from the flood.
Thank you!
Mindy Slavich
3rd Grade
Satchel Ford Elementary
The waters were rising, and Ray Stilwell couldn’t open his front door.
Berry’s neighbor in the Forest Lake Place condos, Stilwell had taken his pets out to his truck Sunday morning when he realized the bottom floor of his home was flooding. He came back inside to carry whatever he could upstairs.
He was wading through shin-deep water, he said, when he heard what sounded like a gunshot. Two doors in his living room had burst open, and water came rushing in. Within 30 seconds, the water rose to his waist and kept coming.
Unable to open the front door, he made his way out back and struggled through three or four feet of water until two men – he doesn’t know who – pulled him to safety.
Monday and Tuesday, Stilwell’s struggle was pulling 41 years worth of possessions and memories from his home, where a shoulder-level water mark remained on the yellow walls of his living room.
“All this stuff, yeah, it means something,” he said. “But the bottom line is it can be replaced. Everything that’s gone can be replaced.”
Allosada and the others from Fort Jackson – “the knights and the gladiators” of the drill sergeant school, Allosada said – had been a help to Stilwell he couldn’t say enough thanks for.
“Trust me, (Fort Jackson) headquarters is getting a phone call from me today, and whoever answers the phone is going to get a positive earful from me about you guys. And I know there are others,” Stilwell told Allosada. “When I think about how long and how painful it would have been for me to have to do this by myself, there’s no way.”
Note: Mr. Ray Stilwell has been one of my coworkers for over 10 years. When I heard about his loss I immediately contacted him and asked him if he had a Go Fund Me account set up on his behalf. He replied that he did not. I asked him if he would mind if I set one up for him and he agreed to let me do it for him.
As the P.E. teacher at our school, Mr. Stilwell has been so very generous to all of the students and teachers with a kind, compassionate heart. He also is a tennis coach outside of Satchel Ford and has positively impacted numberous families.
Setting this campaign up was the least I could do! Please consider supporting Mr. Stilwell by donating and sharing the link. The money donated will go to replacing lost items from the flood.
Thank you!
Mindy Slavich
3rd Grade
Satchel Ford Elementary
Organizer and beneficiary
Melinda Johnson Slavich
Organizer
Columbia, SC
James Stilwell
Beneficiary