Volunteers rebuild man’s home after fire killed wife, destroyed house [Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Texas]

Dec. 30--Raised from the ashes by thousands of man hours and donations from area volunteers, Willie Anderson'sEast Lubbock home, which was gutted in an August fire, on Thursday looked newer, cleaner and nicer than he could ever remember.

But the fresh white paint, new high-end kitchen appliances, fresh Sheetrock walls and shiny hardwood floor can't make up for the loss of his wife, 72-year-old Danielle, who died in the Aug. 24 fire.

Anderson, 84, sat in a donated leather sofa in the renovated living

room of the house where he and Danielle raised their family during 56 years of marriage.

Being in the home without her and without their family heirlooms is bittersweet.

"It brings the hurt back," he said. "Everything I think of, she's in it."

Still, Anderson said he feels enormous gratitude for the volunteers who wasted little time to help transform his family's home from ruins to rejuvenation.

"If it wasn't for them, I'm not sure what we would have done," he said of his situation in the aftermath of the fire.

His wife lingered in a hospital for more than a week, but eventually succumbed to the smoke inhalation and burns she suffered in the fire investigators believe was sparked when an electric lamp fell on a bed.

"I thought I had more insurance on the house than I did -- I had $35,000 in coverage and $75,000 in damages," Anderson said. "We thought about just letting it go. I thought about that two or three times because we just didn't have enough."

But he said the same man who tried to save his wife by pulling her from the burning, smoke-filled house in the 1800 block of 26th Street later came back the next month to help save his home.

David Anderson, Willie's son, said Jason Skelton, the 31-year-old Dunbar College Preparatory Academy administrator who helped another man in the attempted rescue, connected the Andersons with friends in the Midland-based Christmas in Action nonprofit.

Christmas in Action is a faith-based organization aimed at helping renovate homes of people in need.

Though David Anderson, as band director at Dunbar, was one of Skelton's co-workers at the academy, he said neither man had met before the fire.

"We didn't know each other," he said. "But he had friends at Christmas in Action, and they came up here to help."

Skelton has since played a vital role in rebuilding the house, working nearly every weekend since September on construction projects ranging from demolishing and removing charred walls to putting in a new ceiling, trim and paint, according to David and an email to The Avalanche-Journal from Skelton's wife. Skelton was out of town and not available for comment Wednesday or Thursday.

David said a handful of churches and businesses helped along the way in the rebuilding project, in the form of discounted appliances and materials from Lowe's and Home Depot in Midland and volunteer hours and donations from Dunbar, Lyon'sChapel Baptist Church in Lubbock and Our Saviour Lutheran Church in Midland.

Willie Anderson's sister, Gertrude Holmes, said she was impressed with the progress she had seen in her brother's house in the months since the fire.

"But I didn't think you'd be able to stay here," she said, adding she suspected seeing the house would be too emotional for her brother.

"I wasn't sure I could," he said with a gleaming smile. "I wasn't happy when I came back in the first time. But it looks nice, now."

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