‘Thank you from the bottom of our hearts’: New roof given to family of deceased Duval veteran

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Hope was brought down one panel at a time for one Jacksonville family.

The Hunt Family received a fresh start Tuesday -- a free and new roof over their head.

This comes after veteran Victor Hunt -- a husband, father and grandfather, lost his cancer fight in July.

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The moment was made possible thanks to Tadlock Roofing and ABC Supply Co.

It was an act of service that the Hunt family described as a “miracle.”

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” said widow Marilyn Hunt.

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After Victor’s passing, the family was left with a home that was in desperate need of a roof replacement.

Victor’s son, Lucas, has special needs and expressed his gratitude.

“Thankful for my new roof,” said Lucas.

This comes as multiple rooms had been open to the elements, resulting in leakage and visible mold.

The ceiling has collapsed multiple times, even as recently as this past June.

It collapsed into the laundry room, flooding the house and taking out the dryer, washer and flooded the house.

“Lucas gets to come home,” Marilyn said. “He gets to sleep in his own bed. It’s not going to rain in his room.”

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Victor’s son, Jacob, shared how he felt when learning about the gift.

“When they mentioned the word free, that’s what shocked me,” Jacob said. “Nothing is really free anymore, especially something like this. Things were just bad but thanks to Tadlock Roofing -- hopefully it can go back to the good house it was before.”

His sister, Mollie, who inherited the home, said she began to cry.

“I told my husband that this is one less stress I have to worry about,” Mollie said.

Marilyn said she could not be more grateful for the kindness extended by a stranger.

“Our Tadlock promise is that we will treat our customers as if they are our own families, so here’s an opportunity to create some extended family through a charitable event,” said Jason Bellflower with Tadlock Roofing. “Proud to be here.”

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Christopher Salter with ABC Supply Company agreed.

“To be able to give back to the community like this and partner with one of our vendors in business -- it’s really special to be able to do something like this,” Salter said.

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