Deputy killed in the line of duty will have mortgage paid off by 9/11 foundation
A charitable group named after a 9/11 victim is helping the family of a Sumter County sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty.
The mortgage on the home of Cpl. Andrew Gillette will be paid by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, according to a news release.
Gillette, 37, died Feb. 25. He was shot in the chest by a suspect who opened fire on him and other deputies attempting to serve a detention order and an eviction notice.
Gillette is survived by his wife Marie and 11-year-old son JohnCurtis, among other family members, the sheriff’s office said. He had served with the sheriff’s office since October 2013 after leaving the U.S. Air Force, according to Sumter County Sheriff Anthony Dennis.
“He loved law enforcement and loved the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office,” Dennis said in February. “He served honorably and diligently.”
Marie Gillette said she was grateful for the aid from the charitable foundation, which is named in the memory of a fallen 9/11 FDNY firefighter.
“The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is an amazing foundation that does great work for families at the most devastating times in their lives. They are incredibly compassionate and have a genuine concern for the loved ones of fallen first responders,” she said in the release. “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.”
The foundation was created in 2015 to pay off the mortgages for the families of law enforcement officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty who leave behind young children, it said in the release. The foundation received a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.
Prior to joining the sheriff’s office, Gillette served in the Air Force for 12 years and was stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter.
“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,” Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller said in the release. “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.”
The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to messages about the foundation’s donation.
Gillette is the first member of the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office killed in the line of duty since 1996, according to the sheriff.
“We will never get over the loss of Andrew but we can make it through this pain together,” Dennis said in February.
Anyone interested in making a donation to the foundation can find out more information at tunnel2towers.org.
