Wilkes-Barre City Police Sgt. Christopher Mortensen is seen during a K-9 demonstration. Mortensen, 45, died in 2021 after a battle with COVID-19. The Mortensen family’s mortgage was paid off thanks to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which delivers mortgage-free homes to America’s heroes nationwide.
Submitted photo
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Wilkes-Barre City Police Sgt. Christopher Mortensen is seen with his son, Colin.
Submitted photo
This time of year always bubbles with feel-good, help your fellow human stories: donated toys, donated food, feasts, parades, prayerful rituals and reconnected families easily bring out our better angels, reminding us there’s more to life than the bickering that hyper-partisan politicians and pundits foist upon us, feeding our fears for their personal gains.
Friday’s front page sported one such story, a tale of surprising generosity that resonates across years and tragedies; a single act of kindness that helps and protects the family of one who worked to protect others.
The Tunnel to Towers Foundation paid off the mortgage of the Mortensen family, who lost father, husband and Wilkes-Barre Police Sgt. Christopher Mortensen, 45, two days after Christmas in 2021. The pain of losing a loved one — especially at such a young age — would be hard enough at any time; so close to a major holiday it becomes acute.
Adding to the family’s emotional burden, Mortensen died after being hospitalized for COVID-19 a few days before Thanksgiving. A man who spent nearly two decades putting his life on the line got struck down by a new virus that, frankly, the nation and world clearly seemed ill-prepared to combat. The loss feels random and senseless for a man so dedicated to the purpose of public well-being.
He left behind a wife and son, and the mortgage. Turns out that’s just the sort of thing Tunnel to Towers works to fix through the annual Season of Hope. Each year as part of the organization’s efforts to do good and to honor the sacrifices of America’s heroes, they deliver 40 mortgage-free homes between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve.
Tunnel to Towers Chairman and CEO Frank Siller gave a succinct, touching reason why the Foundation paid the debt.
“When the world was locked down, Sgt. Mortensen reported to work each day. We honor his service and sacrifice by protecting his family the way he spent nearly two decades protecting his community.”
Frank was the older brother of Stephen Siller, whose story adds to the tapestry of kindness and courage woven into this saga. According to the foundation website t2t.org, Stephen was a firefighter assigned to Brooklyn’s Squad 1. He had just finished his shift on Sept. 11, 2001 when he heard over the scanner of a plane hitting the North Tower of the World Trade Center. He called his wife to cancel plans and headed back to Squad 1 to get his gear. Unable to drive through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel because it had already been closed to traffic for security purposes, “he strapped 60 pounds of gear to his back and raced on foot through the tunnel to the Twin Towers, where he gave up his life while saving others.”
Honoring Stephen Siller by helping Christopher Mortensen’s family secure their home fits the way both men lived their lives, choosing the security of others over personal safety.
“This has taken a big financial concern off my shoulders,” Sgt. Mortensen’s widow Alicia said. “Having no mortgage to worry about is a true blessing to us. We are so grateful.”
It’s a blessing to all of us, because it reaffirms the best aspects of humanity, and in so doing demonstrates the deepest, most valuable aspects of the holidays.
Yes, giving to others can be a gift to yourself. But giving to commemorate one who died in tragedy, and in that gift helping mend the lives of others shattered by more tragedy?
That is the not simply the spirit of the season, it is the essence.
— Times Leader