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Bedminster Florist Inc. was rendered “completely lost” following the Saturday, April 29 fire at the storefront on 15 Tuttle Ave. & Rt. 202, according to a GoFundMe launched on behalf of longtime owners, Lee and Dorene Longell.
“Lee and Dorene Longell have owned and operated Bedminster Florist for 43 years,” reads the campaign, created by Gwendolyn Adair. “In those years, they've played a part in so many important memories of their customers' lives, from celebrating weddings, births, anniversaries, promotions to honoring lives lost and remembered.”
Thom Diefenbacher, a close family friend, works at the store and is described as a “dedicated employee.”
“Once stepping foot into their shop, you entered a world of botanical enchantment, immediately greeted with warmth and welcome by either Lee, Dorene or Thom,” Adair writes. “They were always eager to meet the needs of their customers through the joy and celebration of flowers and novelty gifts.”
Also active in the community, the Longells are members of Clinton Presbyterian Church. Meanwhile, Adair describes both of the couple’s two sons, Chad and Kyle, as “veterans that served our country with pride.”
More than $31,800 had been raised on the campaign as of Monday, May 8. The funds will be used to help the Longells manage their ongoing costs as they work through the next steps of their difficult loss.
“The Longells are thankful for the local fire departments and emergency services that arrived at the scene to halt the spread of the fire to any other structures,” reads the fundraiser. “The Longells are very thankful to neighbors that called in the fire to the police and thankfully no one was injured.”
“Please pray for us,” the shop posted on social media Monday, May 1, adding that the business would be closed for floral jobs indefinitely.
Click here to view/donate to the ‘Bedminster Florist Business Lost to Fire’ campaign on GoFundMe.
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