Friends Seek Community's Help To Finish Randy's Rebuilding Dream

There’s a saying that it takes a village to raise a child. Friends of a Toms River family are hoping a community will help build a home, as a tribute to a man whose only desire was to get his family back home.

Randy Peterson had been working on that goal for two years. From right after Hurricane Sandy devastated the home that he shared with his wife, Deborah, and their two daughters, Peterson -- a general contractor in Toms River -- fought every day to get back.

The family dealt with all of the problems facing so many devastated by Sandy -- inadequate insurance payouts, grant funding shortfalls. They dealt with health issues, both for Randy and for the girls.

But two years after Sandy destroyed their home, the Petersons finally broke ground on what was to be their new home. Randy Peterson had been working day and night to provide for his family and get them back into their home.

And then life handed the family another devastating blow: On Dec. 12, 2014, Randy Peterson suffered a fatal heart attack while working on the house. He was 53 years old.

Friends have banded together to help Debbi Peterson and the girls finish the work Randy started, creating the GoFundme site to help them pay for the costs.

Randy Peterson had been “completely consumed by the need to return his beloved family to their home,” family friend Patty Kerr wrote on the GoFundme site she created to help her friends. “Debbi is now faced with trying to complete the home with no life insurance and the loss of Randy’s income. As they were doing the vast majority of work themselves, the financial burden is now even heavier.

“They are desperately seeking any way possible to finish the house,” Kerr writes.

The goal for donations is $100,000. To help the family, click here to go to the GoFundme page.

The video below gives a glimpse of the devastation the family suffered during Sandy.