Gibson Family Home Rehabilitation Fund
Donation protected
My name is Angie Lotz and I have taken a personal interest in Mary Bruno's unfortunate passing of her father. My husband and other volunteers have offered to remodel their family home to make it handicap accessible for Mary's siblings. I would like to reach out to all my friends, family and fellow realtors to help raise money to cover the materials needed for this renovation as well as assist the Gibson family with the purchase of a working vehicle. Please read Mary's story below and know that any donations received are much needed and will be greatly appreciated. I look forward to your support to give this family the happy ending they deserve.
Our family has lived on Hillmont Rd since 1973. Our parents were proud to have finally purchased a home to raise their family in. At the time they only had 5 boys (all under the age of 10!). Over the next 4 years two more girls were added to the family-our sister Michelle “Shelly” and myself.
Our family has had our world rocked this year with the death of our father, David Gibson, on Valentine’s Day. Dad has been a member of the Peoria community since he was born in 1934. He attended St Joe’s grade school and Spalding High School. He worked for 33 years at Caterpillar and had various part time jobs as well to support our large family. He and mom were true soulmates and their love for each other inspiring. In 2007, their story here on earth ended when our mom, Mary Ann Gibson, passed away from Breast Cancer. Dad was devastated and so were all of us. He was strong though and he stepped in to his new role as the only parent and kept the house and family going despite his heartache. Then his health began to decline as diabetes, kidney failure, and heart disease began to take their toll. On Super Bowl Sunday he slipped and fell entering our family’s home and broke his right arm. The next day, after a visit to the hospital again for light headedness and shortness of breath, he fell again and broke 3 ribs. This time they kept him in the hospital for observation. He never came home again. He passed away at OSF Hospital in Peoria on Valentine’s Day-apparently it was time for him to join his love in heaven. He leaves behind 7 children and 8 grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews and two brothers.
Our family was always a little different from others not just due to the number of us (9 people in one house is A LOT!) but also because we were blessed with two special needs siblings.
Our brother, Mark, is developmentally delayed and will never be able to live alone. He has the hugest heart and a childlike innocence. He loves spending time volunteering at the Knights of Columbus hall in Peoria and watching different construction crews around town-within bike riding distance. He is the fourth child in our family.
Our sister, Shelly, has cerebral palsy. She cannot walk, talk, or care for herself in any way. She is 100% reliant on others for her well being. Shelly is a bit of a celebrity at different places around town-especially the bowling centers where she watches our brother Steve bowling regularly still and would watch our dad as well. Everyone who meets Shelly and opens their heart to her, falls under her “spell”. She has a smile that lights up a room and a laugh that is simply contagious. She loves being around people-especially her family and most importantly our brother Steve.
Steve is the kindest person you will ever meet. He has devoted his life to helping care for Shelly and has now begun to care for Mark more as well now that Dad has passed away. He is an angel for our family....we couldn’t keep things together without him.
Currently Steve, Mark, Shelly, and our oldest brother, Dave, live in our family’s home. Our parents always did their best to provide us everything we needed. Like a lot of families, we fell on some hard times financially and when those times came, our parents would borrow against the home to keep things afloat. So, although our family has lived in the home for over 40 years, there is still a $65,000 mortgage that needs to be paid. The home has seen better days and recently was appraised far below that amount. So, we are doing whatever we can to better the condition of the home in order to maintain the integrity of life for our siblings.
We recently paid for mold to be remediated in Mark’s room that covered a 3 foot square in the corner of his room. The money for that came from a memorial fund we set up after our father passed away. Servpro come in and cleaned the home to get rid of smoke and fire damage in the home from a stove fire that occurred in the fall of 2018. The money for that luckily came from my father’s homeowners insurance company. We pulled together as a family and repainted the home after the Servpro crew finished. Now the projects needed to be completed are more than we can all handle: financially and physically (we are handy but not this handy!)
The kitchen is in the worst shape because that is where the stove fire was-it has been repainted but the cabinets and flooring really do need to be replaced.
The main bathroom needs a total rehab too. The shower surround is terribly stained, the toilet is rusted, the floor is in bad shape, and the walls have holes in them that need to be repaired. The bath tub is not ADA accessible at all.
Our goal is to raise enough money to fix up the bathroom and kitchen, and to pay down the mortgage some to relieve some financial strain.
Our father was the breadwinner in the house with his pension from Caterpillar and his Social Security benefits. Since he has passed away, his pension has stopped. Our siblings are slotted to get survivor benefits from Social Security to make up for some of the loss of that income. However, because there is still a mortgage and bills to pay to continue to live in the home, that money doesn’t go very far.
On top of the issues the home has, the Van my dad owned, and my brother drove him and Shelly around in daily, is now nearing the end of its life. We recently paid over $700 in repair work only for it to begin to run rough again, they need a reliable and affordable car to get around in.
Our family doesn’t like asking for handouts, but we also know that there is a time and place to swallow your pride and accept/ask for help. Mike Lotz and his wife Angie own a construction company and Mike has graciously offered to oversee and execute the projects. Now we just need the money to purchase the materials. That is the purpose of these fundraising efforts; to raise enough money to rehab the home and to add money to memorial fund we have set up to assist with bills and upkeep of the home. We all simply want a healthy and safe home for our siblings to live in for as long as possible.
We will be forever grateful for every dollar donated. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your prayers and donations.
Mary Bruno (the baby of 7)
Our family has lived on Hillmont Rd since 1973. Our parents were proud to have finally purchased a home to raise their family in. At the time they only had 5 boys (all under the age of 10!). Over the next 4 years two more girls were added to the family-our sister Michelle “Shelly” and myself.
Our family has had our world rocked this year with the death of our father, David Gibson, on Valentine’s Day. Dad has been a member of the Peoria community since he was born in 1934. He attended St Joe’s grade school and Spalding High School. He worked for 33 years at Caterpillar and had various part time jobs as well to support our large family. He and mom were true soulmates and their love for each other inspiring. In 2007, their story here on earth ended when our mom, Mary Ann Gibson, passed away from Breast Cancer. Dad was devastated and so were all of us. He was strong though and he stepped in to his new role as the only parent and kept the house and family going despite his heartache. Then his health began to decline as diabetes, kidney failure, and heart disease began to take their toll. On Super Bowl Sunday he slipped and fell entering our family’s home and broke his right arm. The next day, after a visit to the hospital again for light headedness and shortness of breath, he fell again and broke 3 ribs. This time they kept him in the hospital for observation. He never came home again. He passed away at OSF Hospital in Peoria on Valentine’s Day-apparently it was time for him to join his love in heaven. He leaves behind 7 children and 8 grandchildren as well as many nieces and nephews and two brothers.
Our family was always a little different from others not just due to the number of us (9 people in one house is A LOT!) but also because we were blessed with two special needs siblings.
Our brother, Mark, is developmentally delayed and will never be able to live alone. He has the hugest heart and a childlike innocence. He loves spending time volunteering at the Knights of Columbus hall in Peoria and watching different construction crews around town-within bike riding distance. He is the fourth child in our family.
Our sister, Shelly, has cerebral palsy. She cannot walk, talk, or care for herself in any way. She is 100% reliant on others for her well being. Shelly is a bit of a celebrity at different places around town-especially the bowling centers where she watches our brother Steve bowling regularly still and would watch our dad as well. Everyone who meets Shelly and opens their heart to her, falls under her “spell”. She has a smile that lights up a room and a laugh that is simply contagious. She loves being around people-especially her family and most importantly our brother Steve.
Steve is the kindest person you will ever meet. He has devoted his life to helping care for Shelly and has now begun to care for Mark more as well now that Dad has passed away. He is an angel for our family....we couldn’t keep things together without him.
Currently Steve, Mark, Shelly, and our oldest brother, Dave, live in our family’s home. Our parents always did their best to provide us everything we needed. Like a lot of families, we fell on some hard times financially and when those times came, our parents would borrow against the home to keep things afloat. So, although our family has lived in the home for over 40 years, there is still a $65,000 mortgage that needs to be paid. The home has seen better days and recently was appraised far below that amount. So, we are doing whatever we can to better the condition of the home in order to maintain the integrity of life for our siblings.
We recently paid for mold to be remediated in Mark’s room that covered a 3 foot square in the corner of his room. The money for that came from a memorial fund we set up after our father passed away. Servpro come in and cleaned the home to get rid of smoke and fire damage in the home from a stove fire that occurred in the fall of 2018. The money for that luckily came from my father’s homeowners insurance company. We pulled together as a family and repainted the home after the Servpro crew finished. Now the projects needed to be completed are more than we can all handle: financially and physically (we are handy but not this handy!)
The kitchen is in the worst shape because that is where the stove fire was-it has been repainted but the cabinets and flooring really do need to be replaced.
The main bathroom needs a total rehab too. The shower surround is terribly stained, the toilet is rusted, the floor is in bad shape, and the walls have holes in them that need to be repaired. The bath tub is not ADA accessible at all.
Our goal is to raise enough money to fix up the bathroom and kitchen, and to pay down the mortgage some to relieve some financial strain.
Our father was the breadwinner in the house with his pension from Caterpillar and his Social Security benefits. Since he has passed away, his pension has stopped. Our siblings are slotted to get survivor benefits from Social Security to make up for some of the loss of that income. However, because there is still a mortgage and bills to pay to continue to live in the home, that money doesn’t go very far.
On top of the issues the home has, the Van my dad owned, and my brother drove him and Shelly around in daily, is now nearing the end of its life. We recently paid over $700 in repair work only for it to begin to run rough again, they need a reliable and affordable car to get around in.
Our family doesn’t like asking for handouts, but we also know that there is a time and place to swallow your pride and accept/ask for help. Mike Lotz and his wife Angie own a construction company and Mike has graciously offered to oversee and execute the projects. Now we just need the money to purchase the materials. That is the purpose of these fundraising efforts; to raise enough money to rehab the home and to add money to memorial fund we have set up to assist with bills and upkeep of the home. We all simply want a healthy and safe home for our siblings to live in for as long as possible.
We will be forever grateful for every dollar donated. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your prayers and donations.
Mary Bruno (the baby of 7)
Organizer and beneficiary
Angie Lotz
Organizer
Hampshire, IL
Mary Bruno
Beneficiary
