Co-workers and friends of Facilities Operations and Management employee John Hathaway have set up a relief fund to help him and his family recover from a tragic fire that destroyed his Vermont home.
Hathaway's 14-year-old stepson, Alan Pudims, was killed in the Oct. 14 fire, and his eight-year-old stepdaughter, Jaime Pudims, is being treated for severe burns at the Shriners' Burn Center in Boston, Mass.
Facilities Operations and Management Business Assistant Adrienne Sausville, who is one of the relief fund's organizers, said the Hathaways have already received a large amount of furniture and clothing but still need money to help defray medical expenses and the cost of rebuilding their home
The College paid for Pudims' funeral, Sausville said.
In addition to setting up the relief fund, Hathaway's friends and colleagues have offered to rebuild his house, said Henry Ilsley, a locksmith in Facilities Operations and Management who is helping to oversee the rebuilding project.
"John needs to spend time with his family and not the rebuilding project so we've offered to do that for him," Ilsley said.
Ilsey said New England Homes, a Portsmouth-based company, has offered to build the house's structure at no cost. Ilsley said Hathaway's friends will take care of the wiring, plumbing and other interior work once the structure is built.
Sausville said Hathaway is "one of those people who will go out of his way to help others, yet doesn't expect anything in return." Hathaway has been "flabbergasted" with the outpouring of support he and his family have received, she said.
Ilsley said Hathaway "has helped a lot of people and now it's everyone else's turn to pay him back."
She said Hathaway's daughter is "doing well," is in good spirits and is expected to remain in the hospital until around Jan. 1.
Donations for the Hathaway family can be sent to Jones Hill Woodworking, Hathaway Fund, P.O. Box 86, Bradford, Vt. 05033, or checks made out to Hathaway Fund can be deposited at the Wells River Savings Bank in Bradford.