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Pauni family says thank you
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By Brooke
Barker
October 23, 2006 | "He'd be crying," said Hyrum
Pauni, while talking about his dad.
Today the Paunis are happy to be back in Logan,
and ready to move into their new home, but they
can't help but think of their father, Danny Pauni.
"He's been with us through all of this," said
Janet Pauni of her husband.
Danny Pauni died in 2004 of a heart attack,
and since then, members of the family have been
contributing their time and energy to help support
their family. Janet said she used to need her
children's help running the her catering business,
but with less stress on her plate, the family
will now be able to relax more often.
"The kids will now be able to focus on their
education," she said. "They are going to have
a normal life." |
THANK YOU! The
Paunis accept a $3,000 check from Dewey Richardson
and Merilee Lyons of the Cache Valley Mall, above.
Below, the family points and cheers in front of
their new home. / Photos by Brooke Barker
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There are eight children living with Janet. She hopes
that they will now be able to grow up as who they really
were meant to be, and she will be able to support them
in their quests.
"We are going to be just like everyone else. We still
have to pay the same bills, but ABC has made it possible
for us to focus more on life," Hyrum said.
Yesterday afternoon, the family returned to their
neighborhood after spending several days in the U.S.
Virgin Islands. Their previous home was torn down Tuesday
morning, and since then, thousands of volunteers and
construction crews worked around the clock to meet the
2 p.m. deadline Sunday afternoon.
"This is over the top. I just can't even explain what's
in my mind," Janet said. "I don't know how we got to
be so lucky."
On Monday, the family was also presented five, full-ride
scholarships to Stevens-Henager Business College in
Logan and $3,000 from the Cache Valley Mall.
Dewey Richardson, the general manager of the mall,
said that he and the other tenants in the mall wanted
to do something to help the family. Richardson was among
the security volunteers this week and said he was impressed
by the amount of people willing to work through the
night.
Some of the ABC Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
crews will be here until Wednesday, getting some last
interviews and cleaning everything up.
RB
RB
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