My brother in law Troy was a beautiful, loving and big hearted soul. Dedicated husband to my sister Suzanne and loving father to five adorable children. Troy has two biological daughters and also raised my sister’s three children as they were his own.

A few days ago Suzanne and her 5 children lost their beloved husband and father to suicide. No one in our family realized that behind Troy’s big smile was so much pain, and it is this haunting thought that will forever remain a question for us all, why did we not see how much pain Troy was in and what could we have done to help. Troy had dedicated his life to his beautiful wife and children. They were his life, his everything, which is why none of this makes sense.  He was caring, and always had a smile that would comfort you. He was funny, and loved his family. Sadly, Troy was experiencing a lot of pain and was going through many specialist. Two hours prior to taking his life he was supposed to see another specialist for help. It was just too late.

For Suzanne and the children loosing their father and husband so quickly and unexpectedly has left us in absolute shock and despair.  The life they were all building together has been stolen from them and Suzanne is now faced with raising 5 children as a single mother. My sister was left behind with a lot of debts. My brother in law wasn’t keeping up with any of the bills the last couple of months.

Through this page we not only want to support my sister, but bring light to the suicide epidemic.  Such a permanent decision often made because of a temporary problem has life long devastating outcomes that ripples across our society. The pain of the daily impact of Troy’s loss is so real, and the agony dealing with the reality of their father being gone, the countless unanswered questions, and the acceptance that their lives will be lived without Troy forever, is something our sister and her family will feel forever.

Knowing that my sister lost her soulmate, and my nieces will never have her father walk her down the isle, breaks all of our hearts in the most indescribable way.  Lives are often built with the outlook that both parents will be there to provide for the family, and funeral costs are something that no family plans for especially at such a young age.

 We are hoping to raise the funds to support the costs of Troy’s funeral, counselling for the children and to help guide and support them through the trauma they have experienced, and anything left over will help in supporting Suzanne and her children both now and in the future.  Anything further raised will enable Suzanne to not be forced to go back to work immediately and have some time to grieve.

We would so appreciate if you could share this page with the hope that Suzanne’s story is met with compassion, understanding and abundant generosity.  We would also like to draw light to the issue of suicide and hope that this page reaches someone who may be feeling like there is no hope and we would like to let you know that there is.  Suicide is a permanent solution to an often temporary problem and your life has so much value and purpose so we encourage you to speak to someone who can help you navigate your journey.  There is hope…. We promise.