A Hattiesburg group is banding together to assist the family of a pastor killed in a plane accident on Tuesday night.
According to The Christian Post, as they were sleeping on the night of May 4, an aircraft crashed into Gerry Standley’s family home on Annie Christie Drive in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, causing the house to erupt into flames.
Gerry, an assistant pastor at Wayside Holy Temple Church, his wife Melinda, their daughter Arrianna and their grandson Eli were all inside when the house caught fire. Gerry was killed when the small civilian plane crashed into his home. Gerry and Melinda had just celebrated their 22nd wedding anniversary.
Standley’s younger brother, Cobrin Varnado, told WLOX that, even though they lost a man dear to all of them, they can still pull together and get through it as a family. “We can’t do what he did, but his young brothers, his sons, his nephews, we can come together and uphold the family like he would. He was a remarkable man,” he said.
The funeral costs and damages from the fire and other unexpected damages from the horrific situation have created an immense need. So a GoFundMe was set up by a Hattiesburg group. The fundraiser, at the time of this writing, has raised $11,200 for the family. The donations will assist Melinda and her family through this incredibly difficult period by covering funeral costs, bills, repairing things destroyed in the crash, and any other financial needs that might occur.
The pastor’s niece, Charlisha Standley, told local news outlets, “Right now, my family is in a time of need, so we need all the help that we can get.”
You may also donate directly through the Hattiesburg Police Department’s benefit fund, which they have set up, by going to the front desk of the Hattiesburg Police Department at 300 Klondyke Street, Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Dallas Golden
John Paluska has been a contributor for Christian Headlines since 2016 and is the founder of The Washington Gazette, a news outlet he relaunched in 2019 as a response to the constant distribution of fake news.
