Shelly Sampier lost most of her possessions last year to 10 feet of water, with the moisture and summer heat replacing them with black mold.
She likened the destruction of last May's dam failures to her home to the aftermath of a hurricane. The Sanford resident had to shelter in motels and an apartment for about eight months.
Now a year later, not only has Sampier’s house been restored, but she has someone new to share it with.
With many church groups coming in and helping restore her home from flooding that followed the Edenville Dam failure, Sampier met many volunteers last summer. Little did she know, one of them was Joe Pillars, the man she would marry by the flowing April.
Pillars, a then Lapeer resident, said his church, Hillside Discipleship Church, decided to help with flood relief since they could not travel to Dominican Republic for its mission trip due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of the church’s efforts was to build 20 garden sheds for flood victims in August. The first day of building happened to lead him to meeting Sampier.
“Quite frankly, I think God moved heaven and earth so we would meet,” Pillars said.
While Sampier does not remember meeting Pillars on that day due to the sheer amount people helping her, he remembers thinking how pretty she was.
Shelly remembers getting to know him in December though, when his church came back to help replace her drywall. Through this, the two got to know each and learned they shared a bond over pets, music and faith.
“As I was working every day and getting to know her, see her as she was handling the rebuild, and organizing all work on her home, I just grew to like her and started to really get attracted to her,” Pillars said. “I found out she was just as beautiful on the inside as she was on the outside.”
By mid-January, the couple’s romanced blossomed into a relationship. Shelly said she did not expect to get married after getting a divorce from a 20-year marriage. However, this quickly budding romance soon reached its next level during a casual conversation in March when Sampier asked Pillars when they would be getting married. He simply responded, “how about when we fly out to Colorado to see my son,” since they planned on seeing him in April. Just like that, the two lovebirds were engaged.
The wedding day was on April 10 at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. The newlyweds were greeted by a honking tour bus as they kissed.
After a year and $20,000 worth of mold removal later, Sampier and Pillars have a refurbished home to live in together. Pillars said they plan on hosting Bible studies in their home in the near future.
Sampier said despite last year’s hardships, she is happy to end up where she is now.
“I think I made it out better than anyone else in the flood,” Sampier said.
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May 14, 2021 at 04:04PM
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Sanford flood victim finds love through volunteer effort - Midland Daily News
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