School teacher in Pflugerville finds hope after house fire

Austin American-Statesman (TX)

Sherlyn Southwell and her husband lost their Pflugerville home, three pets, an oil painting of her late Navy son and other cherished belongings in a fire earlier this month.

But despite the harrowing loss, the longtime school teacher said she is feeling strong thanks to the community that has stepped up to support her.

"I'm not upset at all, maybe in the future I will be, but I feel great," Southwell said. "I feel loved and supported."

Her insurance company is still working on the claim she filed on the Sept. 6 fire, but it is likely a total loss.

In the past few weeks, at least 265 people have stepped up to donate over $26,000 to the couple through a GoFundMe page created by her friend.

Southwell said she gave her friend permission to start the account, not expecting such a huge response. The money is helpful, she said, but what means the most to her is the outpouring of support.

One woman who made a donation wrote, "Your positivity is an inspiration to so many." Another wrote, "Our community is so blessed to have you."

Southwell said she and her husband were home when the fire started. They were able to get out, but she said when her husband tried to go back in for their two dogs and one parrot he was stopped by firefighters.

Southwell said she is grateful for her neighbors who came to comfort them and take in their chickens. The Red Cross also assisted them with things like prescription medicine and eyeglasses.

Too exhausted to travel to a hotel, the couple spent the night at a neighbor's home instead.

When she returned to Hill Elementary School in Austin on Monday to start her 33rd year as a teacher, coworkers brought her food and offered support. But the support didn't stop from there. She has received donations and kind words from parents, past and current students and even total strangers.

"It is really more about parents showing me what I meant to their students (than the money)," Southwell said.

Southwell said she will use the money to help with things like trying to recover the data on her work laptop -- a process that could cost almost $3,000, but could save years of documents she created for class instruction. Without the GoFundMe donations, Southwell said she would not feel right about spending so much money on something like that.

A cleaning crew paid through her insurance is currently going through the remains of her home, looking for items that might be salvaged.

The guitar her husband plays at church has been recovered, she said, as has the U.S. flag she received following her son's death. But the remodeling the couple paid for using money their son left with them is a total loss.

"You don't realize how bad it is until you go back," Southwell said of what remains at her home.

The couple said they want to rebuild their home on the same lot because they love their neighbors and the community. That process could take as much as 12 months.

In the meantime, Southwell said she is happy to be teaching students. Her husband is also back to playing the guitar that was pulled from the ashes of their home.

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