Charity pays off mortgage for family of North Ogden mayor killed in Afghanistan

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SALT LAKE CITY — A charity has paid off the mortgage for the family of Brent Taylor, the North Ogden mayor and major in Utah's Army National Guard who was killed in an insider attack in Afghanistan last month.

Taylor's widow, Jennie Taylor, accepted the donation on live television Thursday morning when Frank Siller, chairman and CEO of the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation*, handed her the document paying off her family's home on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends."

The foundation is named for a firefighter killed after the 9/11 attacks.

"It's the least we could do as a country and from the Tunnels to Towers Foundation," Siller, Stephen Siller's brother, said as he handed Jennie Taylor the document.

"This is paid off in full," he said. "It's done, it's finished, you never have to worry about it again."

Jennie Taylor gave Siller a hug, thanked him, and took a deep breath as she held the document.

"It's been very comforting to know that we're not mourning alone," Jennie Taylor said. "And we are very aware that we are not the only Gold Star family."

On top of the "emotional loss" of losing her husband, Jennie Taylor said one of her first worries was how to support her seven children going forward.

"I stay home with our seven children. That's where I want to be," she said. "I don't want them to lose him to war, and then all of a sudden I have to go work a couple of jobs to try to make ends meet. So this is just unbelievable."

Siller said he hopes paying off the mortgage "relieves one small burden from the Taylor family at this tragic time."

"The family can now look forward to celebrating Christmas in their home for years to come, just the way Brent would have wanted them to," Siller said.

Mayor and Maj. Brent Taylor, 39, was killed Nov. 3 while taking an unprecedented one-year leave of absence from his post as mayor for his deployment to Afghanistan. Shortly before his expected return, he was killed during an insider attack at a training base in Kabul.

Along with his widow, Brent Taylor left behind seven children ranging in age from 1 to 13 years.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.