SUMTER, S.C. — The Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation will be paying for the mortgage of fallen Sumter County Deputy Corporal, Andrew Gillette.
The Foundation was established in memory of a fallen 9/11 FDNY firefighter and helps the families of those who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Cpl. Gillette was a 37-year-old veteran who spent more than half of his live serving his country and community. Cpl. Gillette was shot and killed in Sumter County while serving a detention order and eviction notice in February.
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Gillette served in the U.S. Air Force for 12 years, during which time he was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base, before he went into law enforcement in Sumter County in 2013.
He is survived by his wife Marie and their 11-year-old son JohnCurtis.
“The Fallen First Responder Home Program is ensuring that I will be able to keep the home that Andrew worked so hard to provide for us. It also lessens the burden as JohnCurtis and I begin the journey to rebuild our lives without him," said Marie Gillette.
“Service ran in Cpl. Gillette’s family. He came from a long line of law enforcement officers, and he followed their lead - serving in the Air Force for more than a decade, and then coming home to South Carolina and protecting his community. It is our honor to step up and protect his family now, by making sure they will always have a roof over their heads. Marie will never have to worry about making another mortgage payment,” said Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller.
The Foundation’s Fallen First Responder Home Program, created in 2015, pays off the mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty who leave behind young children, according to a release.
Anyone wishing to help the foundation can donate here.