WASHINGTON — How do you聽pick聽up聽pieces of a shattered life after losing a wife聽and two young children? After聽a deadly plane crash in his聽Gaithersburg home聽last December, Ken Gemmell says he’s moving forward聽for his surviving daughter.
In an聽, Ken聽says he and his 7-year-old child, Arabelle need to persevere to honor Marie, Cole and Devin 鈥� Ken鈥檚 36-year-old wife and two children, 3 years old and 7 weeks old, respectively.
“I’ve told my daughter, 鈥榃e don’t want to let this completely defeat us. We don’t want this to, you聽know, define our lives,鈥�” Ken聽tells NBC Washington Reporter Angie Goff.
On Dec. 8, a small plane catapulted into the home on Drop Forge Lane –less than a mile from the Montgomery County Airpark — killing the members of the Gemmell family as well as three people in the plane.
Ken and second grader Arabelle won’t be returning to their home. It has been torn down.
Thinking about that fateful day when his wife Marie died cradling their sons as their home filled with smoke and flames — Ken says聽Marie was a hero.
“I knew she was trying to do everything she could to keep them, and keep them calm and try to save them if it was possible,” Ken said. “…[T]o make sure it wasn’t painful for them.”
It’s a loss no person should ever endure. That’s what聽 the day after what he calls 鈥渁 horrific event.鈥�
Since聽that fateful聽day, Ken聽and Arabelle have received generous support from the community.聽 A聽 page has raised nearly $500,000 and they聽were treated to a playoff game by the family’s beloved Denver Broncos.
Ken tells NBC Washington those gestures can be difficult to accept.
“Because it’s overwhelming. I think more of — we’re only here because of what happened. And to me that hurts a little bit. But, to see my daughter smile at those events — it’s really cool.”
When the wing of a twin engine jet slammed into the ,聽the crash聽also killed three men聽on the plane from Raleigh, North Carolina.
continues to investigate the cause of the crash.
Watch the full report on NBC Washington:
海角精品黑料’s Kristi King contributed to this report.
