“Average fathers have patience. Good fathers have more patience. Great fathers have an ocean of patience.” —Reed Markham

Hello, my name is Hillary (Harter) Person and I am the sister of Paul Harter. After much thought, lots of prayer, and a yearning to feel helpful, I am creating this GoFundMe page for my brother, Paul, and my nephew, Gavin.

A lifelong resident of Altadena, California, Paul is a single dad to a non-stop, curious, and smart Autistic little boy named Gavin. The amount of patience, resilience, and strength my brother shows day-in and day-out is nothing short of amazing. On top of being a devout father, he is also a small business owner. Since September 2017, Paul has continued to build his pool & spa business, Pure Joy Pool, recently adding a crew of “misfits” to handle the expanded demand for service.

On January 7th, 2025, at 6:10pm, the Eaton Fire began and changed the trajectory of their routine for the next 10 days. They both evacuated, spent the day with a neighborhood friend and ended up returning to their house that thankful was still standing. Surrounded by continuing chaos, Paul made the decision to stay at their residence in a place where Gavin was familiar. For the days that followed, they were sequestered with no water or electricity and dependent upon faithful family to bring them water and food. As the fire continued, Paul was unable to leave to service his customers, relying solely on his crew to keep his remaining accounts serviced. A large percentage of his accounts lost their homes or no longer need his service which has put a financial strain on him. In addition, he has had crucial and expensive business equipment stolen which has also limited his service capabilities.

Paul would never set-up a fundraising page himself, he is one that has faith everything will work out one way or another. Any amount he would be gifted would be humbly accepted and would help him until he is able to build his business back up and purchase needed equipment to keep remaining business intact. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity and prayers for all those affected by the California fires and those tirelessly working on the front lines.

#denastrong #lawildfires #eatonfire