Tunnel to Towers Wraps up Season of Hope by Paying Off Mortgage on Home of Slain U.S. Marshal

 

Tunnel to Towers Wraps up Season of Hope by Paying Off Mortgage 

on Home of Slain U.S. Marshal 

Tunnel to Towers Delivers 200 Homes to Celebrate its 20th Anniversary

This New Year’s Eve the Tunnel to Towers Foundation is honored to announce it has paid, in full, the mortgage on the home of Deputy U.S. Marshal Josie Wells. 

(Deputy U.S. Marshal Josie Wells)

This is the 65th and final home in the 2021 Tunnel to Towers Season of Hope, and the 200th mortgage-free home the Foundation has delivered this year. 

This final mortgage payoff fulfills the promise made a year ago by Tunnel to Towers CEO and Chairman Frank Siller to provide 200 homes to American heroes in honor of the 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. 

Six years ago, Deputy U.S. Marshal Wells was shot and killed on March 10, 2015, while trying to arrest a convicted felon wanted for a double homicide. 

The 27-year-old had served with the United States Marshals Service for four years and was assigned to the Southern District Office in Mississippi.

He left behind his wife Channing, who was pregnant with their son. 

(Deputy Wells and his wife Channing Wells)

(Josie and Channing’s son)

Channing called the Foundation’s support the greatest gift ever, a gift that made her birthday and the holiday so much brighter. 

“I honestly feel so blessed, especially during this holiday season when loved ones grieve during the loss of family members. Christmas is going to feel a lot different this year knowing that my forever home has become my forever home,” said Channing Wells. 

Deputy Marshal Wells comes from a proud family with a history in law enforcement. His father, Obie Wells Sr. is a retired Jackson County Sheriff Deputy, and his brother, Obie Wells Jr. is a Police Officer with the Jackson Police Department in Mississippi.

“I am honored to pay off the mortgage for the Wells family so they can celebrate the start of 2022 without this financial burden,” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. 

 

Tunnel to Towers Foundation Delivers Mortgage-Free Home 

to Fallen Louisiana Officer’s Family

Mortgage-free home is part of Tunnel to Towers’ third annual Season of Hope

 

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation announced that it has delivered a mortgage-free home to the family of fallen Slidell Police Officer Jason Michael Seals.

(Slidell Police Officer Jason Michael Seals)

Officer Seals, 35, passed away on November 17, 2018 after succumbing to injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash on September 25, 2018. Officer Seals was escorting a funeral procession when he was struck by a passing vehicle.

He had served with the Slidell Police Department for 10 years. 

Throughout his time with the Slidell Police Department, Officer Seals served in both the Patrol and Traffic Divisions, on the Fatality and SWAT Teams, as a Field Training Officer, a member of the Honor Guard, and the Assistant Vice President of the Slidell Police Benevolent Association.

Officer Seals left behind his wife, Katelyn, and his three children.

(The Seals family)

“I cannot express how grateful I am…the thought of moving out of our home and into a new home, a home that we never shared with Jason, was so terrifying, but to have such a major blessing like this calms my soul and brings me so much peace. I pray that I make Jason and all other fallen officers proud with the way in which I present myself and am raising my son,” said Katelyn Seals.

2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, and the Season of Hope is the culmination of the Foundation’s anniversary events. 

So far this year, Tunnel to Towers has delivered 135 mortgage-free homes across the country. 

The 65 homes included in the Season of Hope will bring the total to 200 homes for the year. 

“Officer Seals spent a decade protecting and serving his community before his life was suddenly and tragically taken. We are honored to help the family of this hero by making sure they have a mortgage-free home where they can spend this holiday season, and every holiday season, and create new memories together” said Frank Siller, Chairman and CEO of the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. 

Tunnel to Towers annual Season of Hope campaign celebrates the holidays by delivering mortgage-free homes or mortgage payoffs to families of fallen first responders, Gold Star families, and catastrophically injured veterans and first responders around the country. 

 

For more information on Tunnel to Towers’ mission to support America’s veterans, fallen first responders and Gold Star families, visit t2t.org and consider donating just $11 per month.

About the Tunnel to Towers Foundation

The Tunnel to Towers Foundation is dedicated to honoring the sacrifice of FDNY Firefighter Stephen Siller, who laid down his life to save others on September 11, 2001. For 20 years the Foundation has supported our nation’s first responders, veterans, and their families by providing these heroes and the families they leave behind with mortgage-free homes. For more about the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and its commitment to DO GOOD, please visit t2t.org.

Follow Tunnel to Towers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at @Tunnel2Towers.