Auburn Bay community members rally around grieving widow, three young children
Residents of one southeast Calgary neighbourhood have raised thousands of dollars to support a family grieving the losses of a father and grandfather.
Auburn Bay’s Chad Martin, 48, and his father Willard Martin, 76, were killed Friday.
Both were working on a vehicle together — one of their shared hobbies — when something shifted and the vehicle fell on them.
They leave behind Martin’s wife Natasha and three children under 12-years-old: Edie, Miah and Jake.
Family members describe the men as "hard working, kind and compassionate."
"(Willard) was a wonderful guy, a wonderful dad," Vance Eva said. "(They were) both really great people. The community was very lucky to have them."
Another relative called Martin a "community guy," who would be the first to help others on his block with anything and everything.
So it should come as no surprise that many of those neighbours are pitching in for his family in a moment of need.
One friend has started a GoFundMe page to "help with day-to-day bills, funeral expenses and any other unexpected costs that may arise during this heartbreaking time."
As of Wednesday afternoon, it had brought in more than $85,000.
Close to where the Martins live, another fundraiser has brought in more financial support.
The A&W on Auburn Meadows Drive S.E. will be donating $2 from every combo sold Wednesday to the Martin family, including orders placed through third-party delivery apps.
"Being community members, they are family to us, even though I don’t know them personally," Franchiser Balwant Singh said. "Being human, we should play our part all the time."
Singh says he is also matching any cash donations made in-store.
"They are going through a lot, but if I put myself in their shoes, I can feel their pain. We can try to ease it," he told CTV News.
"I always say we can’t walk for them, but we can walk with them during this tough time so they are not alone in this."
Another neighbour in Auburn Bay has started a "meal train" for the grieving family.
Community members have volunteered their time to make and deliver Natasha and her kids food.
One family member tells CTV News almost a month of meals has already been offered.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air turbulence: When can it become dangerous?
Flight turbulence like that encountered by a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday is extremely common, but there's one aspect of severe turbulence an aviation expert says can lead to serious injury.
B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton was attacked and sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
'Miscommunication' Liberals say of Speaker Fergus event invite Conservatives call partisan
House of Commons Speaker Greg Fergus is facing fresh Conservative-led calls to resign, this time over "very partisan" and 'inflammatory' language used – the Liberals say mistakenly – to promote an upcoming event.
OPP continues to investigate boat collision north of Kingston, Ont. that left 3 people dead
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate a long weekend fatal boat collision on Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Loblaw boycott organizers say they plan to keep movement going past May
The organizers of a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores say they've decided to extend the boycott past May.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Winnipeg trial hears admitted serial killer searched web for serial killer definition
The trial of a Winnipeg man who has admitted to killing four women has heard he searched the internet to look up the definition of what it means to be a serial killer.