WHEATON, IL — Community members, friends, church members and others have raised more than $66,000 via GoFundMe to help support the family of Tomassino "Tommy" Offer, 18, who was fatally hit by a train in Wheaton last Sunday.
Offer, a baseball player who had recently begun his first semester at Wheaton College, had just left service at St. Michael Catholic Church when he was struck by a freight train as he walked across the tracks at Front Street.
The GoFundMe fundraiser was started by friends who know Tommy and his family through Notre Dame Preparatory School, St. Lawrence Catholic Church and Keller Williams Lakeside Realty.
The fundraiser description reads, in part, "In the days since his passing, friends and community members have asked how they can surround the family with love and support. This fundraiser allows one way to express that care and stand beside them during an unimaginable time. We have created this fundraiser for friends and loved ones to honor Tomassino's memory and express their love for the Offer family-a gesture of togetherness from a community that holds them close."
describes him as "an exceptional young man of many gifts and talents, and a teen who truly loved God."
Offer is survived by his parents, a younger brother and a younger sister.
Click the link to donate to the GoFundMe to help support the Offer family.
Sign up for free local newsletters and alerts for the
Wheaton Patch
Patch.com is the nationwide leader in hyperlocal news.
Visit Patch.com to find your town today.