Fund set up for daughters of fire victim
By Kevin Kelley
Westlake
Published Feb. 7, 2007

The early morning fire on Hilliard Boulevard Jan. 7 not only took the life of Jenny and Katie Porter’s mother. It also put the two teen girls deep in debt as they begin their adult lives.

Debbie Porter, 49, perished in the fire along with her companion Mark Sullivan, 57. Because she did not have a life insurance police, her oldest daughter Jenny, 19, is scrambling to pay for the funeral expenses.

Jenny, who is studying to become a nurse at Lorain County Community College, said her mother would not have wanted her daughters to be struggling to pay for her final expenses.

“I know my mom would be mortified that this is going on — that we’re in this position,” she said.

Although no one can reverse the Jan. 7 tragedy, some family friends have established a fund to help pay off the funeral costs, which may run as high as $10,000 when cemetery and headstone costs are included.

Mary Ellen Meyers, who in the early 1990s founded Bay Village’s Good Neighbors Program, which aids needy residents in that city, has stepped in to help. Her niece Lindsay was a friend and classmate of Jenny’s at Fairview High School.

Meyers told West Life that the funeral debt is a huge responsibility for Jenny and Katie to take on at their age, especially after experiencing the tragic death of their mother.

“I don’t know how they pay that down when one’s in high school and the other’s working part time,” Meyers said. “There’s not anyone there financially to take care of this for them….They’re basically alone with this debt problem.”

Although Jenny and Katie, a high school student, were living with their father at the time of the fire, both had lived with their mother during much of their formative years.

Jenny said that her mother, who worked at a billing service company in Rocky River, had always supported her daughters with school tuition and other expenses.

“Anyone who knew her knew she was a good person,” Jenny said of her mother.

Both Jenny and Katie said they feel uncomfortable about having to ask others for help. “There’s really no other option,” she said.

Beyond the debt issue, Jenny said she and her sister are holding up well.

“We’re OK,” She said. “We’ve been busy, so there’s not much time to understand everything.”

A fund has been set up at Key Bank for the daughters. Checks, payable to the Porter Family Memorial Fund, can be donated at any Key Bank branch or mailed to this address:

Porter Family Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 451261
Westlake, OH 44145-9998

Meyers knows from her experience with Bay’s Good Neighbor Program that people on the Westshore are very generous.

“When we all give a little, a lot can be done,” she said.

Previous West Life article:

• Two die in Hilliard Blvd. fire (West Life, Jan. 10, 2007)