"Hold onto your babies:" Family mourning the loss of father, two kids killed in Town of Waukesha fire
TOWN OF WAUKESHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The father and his two kids who died in a house fire in the Town of Waukesha last week will be laid to rest this weekend.
The Visitation and Celebration of Life will be at Whitnall High School Saturday For Kevin Duffy Sr (38), Kevin Duffy Jr. (14) and Kylie Duffy (12).
The Visitation will start at 11 a.m. March 2, the Celebration of Life Service will follow at 2 p.m. and will be followed by a private family burial.
“It's shocking for us,” Victoria Newell, the grandmother and mother-in-law of the victims said. “It's still not real for me.”
Kevin Sr., Kevin Jr., and Kylie were killed early Tuesday morning when their home on Arcadian Avenue in the Town of Waukesha caught fire.
Kylie loved to bake.
“I can't remember her ever doing anything wrong,” her grandfather Jeffery Newell said. “She was a little princess.”
Kevin Junior was on the Whitnall High School Wrestling team and loved to fish.
“He was a very smart kid,” his grandmother said.
The children’s father, Kevin Sr., died a hero rescuing his 9-year-old son Konner and the family dog, before rushing back into the flames to try and rescue Kevin and Kylie.
“He was just a good dad and he loved his children,” Victoria Newell said. “He’d do anything for those kids. He really did.”
Kevin’s wife, Casey, suffers from a severe case of Chron's disease and was staying with her parents at the time of the fire because she was not feeling well.
“My daughter is hanging in there,” Victoria Newell said. “She’s trying to be really tough for Konner so he doesn’t see mom cry. We’ve been keeping him busy.”
But the loss weighs heavy on those who loved them.
“Hold onto your babies,” Victoria Newell said. “Kiss them every day and tell them you love them.”
And the loss weighs even on strangers who have been pitching in to help the family.
“They didn’t have any insurance on their person or any of their belongings so they basically lost everything,” Jeffery Newell said.
The family has started a GoFundMe to help with the three funerals. Summit Credit Union is also accepting donations on the family’s behalf. People who don’t want to donate money can also donate household items because the family lost everything in the fire. Casey is also in need of a used car to get to appointments.