Just a few days before Christmas; Karla Austin received news that her father (Karl Hethcoat) had passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Karl was single and his daughter was next of kin. This shocking news had her making many difficult decisions during Christmas. One painful decision was when to tell her sons about their grandfather. She would have held off and let her sons enjoy Christmas first, but their grandfather had told the boys that he would be there for Christmas. So through painful tears of great loss, she had to set down her sons and explain why they would not be seeing their grandfather.

Karl loved life and he lived his life as if he would be here forever. He tried his hardest to make time for his family. He was very proud of his two grandsons. The many miles between his home and his daughter made visiting limited, but when he was able to make it up, he loved seeing the smiles on his grandson's faces.

With all of the emotional pain and stress that death brings, it also brings financial burdens. Karla and her family are not just to work through their grief but they will now need to meet this additional financial burden. It had never entered her mind that she would be trying to budget her father’s Funeral cost. It is during these times of loss and sadness that you see people coming together to help one another make it through, to support the people we care for. We are thankful for any support you may be able to provide. We also ask that you can keep this family in your thoughts and prayers.