The community is rallying behind a Sunshine Coast family left heartbroken by the sudden loss of a father-to-be just before Christmas.
Six months pregnant with her fiance’s first child, a Coast mother has been left to raise her unborn child alone after her “grounded man with a huge heart” was tragically killed in a truck crash.
In an unthinkable situation, it is an all too familiar pain for Jenna Wall after also losing the father of her now-eight-year-old daughter, Leah, just months before her birth in 2013.
On December 13, Meridan Plains man Matthew Stockman was in a fatal single-vehicle accident south of Mount Larcom on the Bruce Highway while driving a truck from Rockhampton.
Now those close to Ms Wall are hoping the community will help the young family as they prepare for life without Mr Stockman, and the arrival of a baby boy in March 2023.
Friend and colleague of Ms Wall, Ronnie Hartshorne, has created a Go Fund Me page and said it would be a “tough road ahead” for the family.
“Jenna is completely devastated and overwhelmed with grief,” Mr Hartshorne said in a statement.
“Jenna now has the prospect of being a single mother to Leah and her baby boy without the love of her life by her side.
“With the emotional grief, there is also the financial burden of now being in a single-income home with no financial backup and a baby due in March.
“Jenna has a tough road ahead emotionally and financially and any donations will go towards setting up a stable home for Jenna, Leah and the baby.”
He said the family had been overwhelmed with support so far and that the generosity and kindness was “so appreciated” by Ms Wall and Leah.
Ms Wall met Mr Stockman in 2019 and the pair were engaged in December 2021.
Then, after trying and undergoing fertility treatment the longed-for news came that that they were going to have a baby.
“Jenna, Matt, and Leah were so happy and excited,” Mr Hartshorne said.
“Matt worked as a long-haul truck driver, but now with the baby on the way he decided to stop long haul driving and took a driving job for a local family-owned business.”
Mr Stockman also filled a hole in Leah’s life as the father she never got to meet.
Sadly in 2013, when Ms Wall was 27 pregnant with Leah, her partner at the time was involved in a vehicle accident and spent two weeks on life support before he died. Leah was born in December that year.
“As a single mum, Jenna was a strong independent woman and despite the apparent struggles of single parenting, she created a home for Leah to thrive in,” Mr Hartshorne said.
He said Mr Stockman fulfilled Ms Wall’s “hopes and dreams” for her future with a husband and father for Leah.
Mr Stockman’s funeral will be held on Friday, January 13 at 3pm at Gregson and Weight Buderim.
To support the family, visit the Go Fund Me page.
