Tag Archive for: Veterans

Stonewater & Purple Heart Homes Help Tyler Veteran Get New Roof

Stonewater Roofing recently teamed up with Purple Heart Homes to help a disabled veteran in Tyler get a new roof.

Kelly Fromm served as a counterintelligence agent in the military for nearly 14 years, but was forced into retirement in 2001 after sustaining severe injuries. “I broke both my legs and shattered my back,” he said. During surgery, doctors discovered that Fromm had a neurodegenerative disease. “That ended by career abruptly.”

The veteran relocated to Tyler in 2020, and his new home fell victim to a tornado just two years later. “What brought attention to the roof was the last storm we had here,” Fromm explained. “You can see where the tornado came right through our property. It went from the front, all the way down, and took all these big, giant trees out that you see these stumps.”

“The house shook,” Fromm continued, but his insurance company claimed that his home was not damaged by the tornado. “They told me that the house shaking was not from the wind storm.” The company stated that old age was to blame and refused to cover the cost of repairs.

Fromm was unable to afford the cost of a new roof, so he reached out to Purple Heart Homes, a national nonprofit that offers safe housing solutions to disabled veterans. To date, Purple Heart Homes as completed more than 1,000 projects. They were the ones who connected Fromm with Stonewater Roofing. “Next thing you know, you guys are doing the roof on the house,” he said.

“Your crew is very professional,” Fromm added.

Kelly Fromm & Stonewater Roofing

A look at the final product after disabled veteran Kelly Fromm received a new roof on his Tyler home with help from Purple Heart Homes and Stonewater Roofing.

Stonewater Roofing, in turn, partnered with GAF and ABC Supply to not only replace, but upgrade Fromm’s old roof. Parts of the home were redecked and the disabled veteran received Timberline ArmorShield II impact resistant shingles. These are protected from wind and algae, and able to withstand the toughest hail tests.

ABC Supply provided the new decking. “Part of this house was built in 1957, so the decking on that side has been compromised,” explained Stonewater Roofing project manager Dusty Phillips. “We are going to be pulling it off and redecking it.”

Meanwhile, GAF donated many of the shingles used in this project. “It’s very significant,” Fromm said. “It shows their respect for the veteran community and to the Purple Heart Homes mission to help veterans like myself.”

When the project was finished, Fromm was very grateful to have Purple Heart Homes on his side, along with Stonewater Roofing and their partners. “They couldn’t do it without companies like Stonewater Roofing and GAF that support the cause,” he said.

Stonewater Employee Makes Holidays Bright For Veterans

The best part of the Christmas season is bringing smiles to people’s faces with a kind gesture or a thoughtful gift. But there are some people who go all year barely being noticed. Despite decades of bravery and service, many residents at Watkins-Logan Texas State Veterans Home in Tyler often find themselves alone for the holidays.

“You don’t realize how many of them have nothing. They don’t have anybody,” said Bryanna Chapman of Stonewater Roofing.

Chapman and her sister, Kelse Hollowell of Reuland Orthodontics, started working together to change that. “We got a whole bunch of stockings, and we have a list of things that were really needed by the veterans at the veteran home,” Chapman said. “We started this little thing for people to swing by the offices and pick up some stockings and just fill them with things that the veterans needed or wanted, or stuff that we thought would be a good little Christmas gift.”

Bryanna Chapman (left) and Kelse Hollowell (right) proudly display the Christmas stockings that are being filled for veterans.

The wishlists included items like non-slip socks, pens and notepads, tissues, lip balm, hand sanitizer, lotion, crossword puzzles and other activity books.

Chapman’s family at Stonewater Roofing was happy to help. “I just asked a lot of the guys or the office people if they wanted to help pitch in as well, and got a lot of response from it,” she added.

But this was not just an act of service for Chapman and Hollowell, it was a labor of love. “My husband, he’s in the Army. A lot of people in my family are in the military,” Chapman explained. “Veterans being in need over Christmas just broke my heart. I really wanted to help.”

Employees check over the Christmas stockings before they are delivered to veterans.

The stockings were delivered to the veterans in the days leading up to Christmas.

“It just makes sense,” Chapman continued. “They just didn’t have anything or anybody for Christmas, so being able to provide them with stuff like this just seemed like the right thing to do.”