Local man discovers hope, faith amid tragedy

Friends and strangers reached out to help Francis Lawson after he lost his home in a Sept. 12 fire.

BY JEFF OLIVER
For the MVI

On Sept. 12, Monessen resident Francis Lawson got a phone call that was going to signal a shocking change to his life.

“I was at a middle school football game in Mt. Pleasant and I got a call at 4:30 that my house was on fire,” Lawson said. “It was a shock. I can’t even remember the ride home.”

When he arrived at his home, he found devastation.

The house and most of its contents were gutted. Clothes, furniture, lifelong family mementos and other personal effects were lost.

Lawson, who works as a landscaper, even saw his two tractors burn up in his driveway, leaving his ability to make a living in doubt.

And Lawson didn’t have homeowners’ insurance on the house.

“When I saw my house, I felt like … when someone you love dies it’s a gut punch. Just empty and in shock,” he said. “That’s pretty much how I felt. I was just sick and wasn’t sure how my family would recover from this.

“I just felt helpless.” He owns a house nearby that he figured he would fix up and move into. But he discovered that the copper plumbing in the basement of the empty structure had been stolen.

To make matters worse, two nights later as his truck was parked outside his destroyed home, someone stole grass cutting tools out of the truck’s bed.

The immediate aftermath of the fire was very painful for the 66-year-old personable man and former long time football coach.

However, from the ashes of that nightmarish fire rose up a community response that has moved Lawson to tears — more than once.

“People started doing things for me and my family that I never expected,” he said. “I mean, out of nowhere I started hearing from people and I’m still kind of speechless.”

Lawson choked up more than once as he mentioned the outpouring of love and support he has received since that fateful day.

Here are some of the gestures made to Lawson’s family: • Chris Rhome, a former municipal fire chief in the city and a close friend of Lawson, organized two events that raised a considerable amount of money that was presented to Lawson.

• Buzzy Byron, Bill Hans and Sean Buffa donated the copper pipes and installed them in the house that Lawson and his family had to move into.

• Monessen resident Cayla Popp gave Lawson a lawn tractor so he could resume his business.

• Jarod Madison, owner of Coaches Corner convenience store, gave Lawson a string trimmer, grass blower, chainsaw, microwave oven and a television.

He praised Monessen firefighters who battled the blaze, noting that one firefighter ran into the burning structure to check beds because of fear that Lawson was in the house.

“I’ve had people offer me various pieces of furniture they weren’t using, clothes for my family, food, money,” he said in a halting voice. “It’s really been such a great blessing.”

He paused for a moment and added, “Whenever someone dies, people often talk about how they felt about that person, their character and what not.

“One day, I was thinking when I die what will people say about me? Well, God allowed me to live to get an idea how people feel about me. It really makes me emotional.”

Lawson’s daughter started a GoFundMe account that has raised nearly $1,500 and is still open.

Some of those donations came from Greene County and people out of state.

“I got to know people at West Greene when I coached football against them,” he said. “A couple of them let me hunt on their property over the years. I guess they didn’t forget about me.”

He said there are so many people who have reached out that he will never be able to repay their kindness.

“I’m blessed to have so many people who not only care for me, but stepped out on their own to try and help us out,” he said. “It’s something I will never forget and will probably never be able to pay back.

“We still have a long way to go. We lost some things that can’t be replaced,” he said. “But none of us died. We are still here and my faith in the city and a whole lot of other people has been renewed.”