Two Alberta siblings are struggling to come to terms with the loss of both parents in a short period of time.
John Rovin Mercer, the son of Linda Jones, said his mother called him recently to say that his stepfather, Bruce Jones, was in hospital following a heart attack.
After receiving the call, Mercer and his wife drove to the Jones’ family home in Warner, Alta., to visit Linda. When he left, Mercer told his mother that he would be back in a couple of days.
But Mercer wasn’t able to return or see his mom again.
While visiting Bruce at a Calgary hospital, the Jones’ family home went up in flames as the result of an electrical fire, killing Linda.
“In the time that he was gone, a couple days later, there was a fire at his home that took the life of my mom, their best friend and roommate and all of their pets, including my dog, my kid’s dog,” said Mindy Radisic, daughter to Linda and stepdaughter to Bruce.
Doctors told Radisic and Mercer that their dad was expected to survive and was scheduled to have a double or triple bypass in the coming weeks, but while waiting, he suffered a stroke and passed away within days.
Funeral costs are being partly subsidized by the government, however, the costs of travel and time off work are putting financial strain on the siblings as funeral arrangements are sorted out.
A family member of Radisic’s has set up a GoFundMe page to help.
“With everything that is going on, money is just money,” Radisic said. “It’s not a big deal, but it would be nice not to have to worry, and I want to make sure my brother doesn’t have to worry. With everything else going on … we want to be able to just grieve.”
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