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Second Chances: Through the fire and in love

"When bad things happen, so much good comes out of it!"

It's a home that saw more than 30 kids in need come through it. Each of them on the road to better lives for having lived there.

Wednesday night, the home on Main Market Road in Parkman, Ohio went up in flames -- on the eve of a very special wedding anniversary.

But the displaced family is no stranger to life throwing them curve balls.

Big, monumental ones.

Wednesday, they had no choice but to watch their house burn despite what they say was a stellar effort by firefighters from several departments.

“It scared me to death watching them on the roof and in the house when it was burning. I kept thinking get out of there! Get out of there!,” said Sue Wojtasik.

But the Wojtasik family sticks together.

They roll with the punches.

Because when it comes to second chances, they have excellent role models.

Thursday, Donna and Ken Stimmel celebrated 4 years of wedded bliss. 4 years since they walked down the aisle in their 80's!

They “met on the computer", they said, “On Christian mingle”.

"I didn't want to be away from him so we decided we had to be married," said Donna.

It was the second time for both. Both of their spouses had passed away.

Ken was married 64 years! Donna married for 54.

"So together that's 118 years!" Ken points out.

HOW did they stay married all that time?

"On the day we were married I said til’ death do us part," is Ken’s answer.

Donna chimes in with “And there are some times I want to KILL him,” and laughs.

That 'roll with the punches' attitude came in handy Wednesday night, the eve of their anniversary, as fire ripped through their daughter's home.

Ken and Donna were staying in the mother-in-law suite.

Ted and Sue’s 5 grandkids were in the house along with the 6 adults.

No one was injured.

"Had it been 15-20 minutes later the kids would have been going up stairs to bed and we wouldn't have been able to get to them," Sue says.

In fact, more than 30 foster kids have come through the Wojtasik his house over the years and went on to better lives for having been loved in their home.

"The best is when the foster kids stop by my house and say thank you and give me a hug. It’s amazing," says Sue.

Now there is no more house to come to, but the heart of the home, the people, have moved next door in with more family.

When you look across the street where so many memories were made, it’s just burnt out walls and stuff inside for this family, who already knows how to stick together through the fire.

"I just lost my job and my husband had shoulder surgery a month ago. So it's been a really rough Fall but God is good and everybody is safe and we want to stay focused on that," says Sue, with a grateful heart that also survived the fire.

Her husband Ted is already a survivor. 20 years cancer free from stage 4 cancer.

Which explains why he says he “Just keeps plugging away. It could always be worse."

"When bad things happen, so much good comes out of it! Neighbors I have never met are knocking on the door asking to help," says Sue.

A GoFundMe account has been set up for the Wojtasik family. Click here if you would like to help.

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