Foundation pays off mortgage for family of fallen Watauga County sergeant

WATAUGA COUNTY,N.C. — The family of a Watauga County sergeant who was killed in the line of duty will never have to make another mortgage payment again.

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgages for the homes of 50 families, including the family of Sergeant Chris Ward.

Ward was performing a welfare check on April 28 with K-9 Deputy Logan Fox when both were shot and killed. Ward was survived by his wife, Candice and two daughters, Molly and Katie.

The 50 families are relatives of fallen first responders and Gold Star recipients.

In addition to Ward’s family, the foundation also paid the mortgage for the family of Midland native U.S. Army Staff Sergeant James R. Ide V.

Ide, a handler of bomb-sniffing dogs, died in the line of duty in August 2010 after his unit came under fire in Hyderabad, Afghanistan. He is survived by his wife, Mandy, and their children.

According to Tunnel to Towers, the payoff is the largest one-day mortgage payoff in the foundation’s history. Representatives of the foundation said this was due in part to an outpouring of support it received after the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

“This year, Americans came together to remember the incredible loss of life that occurred 20 years ago when evil struck at the heart of our great nation,” Tunnel to Towers CEO and Chairman Frank Siller said in a statement. “Thanks to the generosity of this great nation, the Ide and Ward families and 48 additional families will never have to worry about making another mortgage payment and will always have a place to call home.”

Tunnel to Towers honors the legacy of New York firefighter Stephen Siller, who died in the attacks on September 11, 2001 while in the line of duty. The foundation pays off mortgages for and provides mortgage-free homes to families of seriously injuries and fallen first responders and Gold Star families with young children.

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