Two Gold Star families in the Kansas City area woke up Wednesday owning their homes outright. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation said it paid off the mortgages on the Leavenworth, Kansas, home of the family of Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 William Dickinson and the Lee's Summit, Missouri, home of the family of Army Sergeant Matthew Gonzales, marking Veterans Day with a gift aimed at easing the financial burden left behind after each soldier's death.
The foundation said the payoffs were part of a broader Veterans Day announcement in which 30 Gold Star families nationwide learned they would have mortgage-free homes, according to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. The organization said it has committed to delivering 343 mortgage-free homes this year to Gold Star families, families of fallen first responders, and injured veterans and first responders. As FOX 4 Kansas City reported, Foundation Chairman and CEO Frank Siller said the mortgage payoffs would honor the two soldiers and provide their families with future security.
A Soldier's Battle With a Rare, Service-Linked Cancer
Matthew Gonzales joined the Army Reserve in 2003 and was later deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, per FOX 4's reporting. A graduate of Spring Hill High School who went on to earn an undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas, Gonzales had begun a master's degree program at Baker University when he was diagnosed with esthesioneuroblastoma, a rare cancer the station reported was linked to burn pit exposure during his deployment.
Gonzales died from the disease on January 10, 2015, at age 31, after what his obituary describes as a year-long battle with cancer, according to Speaks Chapel. He left behind his wife, Elizabeth, and their daughters. Baker University later awarded him an honorary degree in recognition of his legacy, FOX 4 reported. Elizabeth Gonzales-Manns said the gift recognized her family's journey and affirmed that Matt's life and sacrifice were remembered, per the station's account.
Two Decades in Army Information Management, Then a Fatal Heart Condition
William Dickinson enlisted in the Army and completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in 2002, according to Davis Funeral Chapel. He went on to serve for more than two decades as an Information Management Technician, per FOX 4's reporting. Dickinson died on September 20, 2024, in Leavenworth at age 45, from what the station reported was a service-connected cardiac condition.
He left behind his wife, Crystal, and their four children. The Dickinson family said a mortgage-free home provides a safe haven to heal, remember Bill, and rebuild together, FOX 4 reported. Both families' homes fall under the foundation's Gold Star Family Home Program, which the organization says provides mortgage-free homes to surviving spouses with young children after the loss of a service member or first responder and honors the legacy of those who died serving the country. Eligible children in the program can also receive full undergraduate scholarships through the foundation's Mae and George Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation Scholarship Program, per FOX 4.
Part of a Steady Pattern of Local Payoffs
The Veterans Day announcement follows earlier mortgage payoffs the foundation has made for Kansas City-area families, though those earlier gifts centered on fallen first responders rather than military veterans. In July, the foundation paid off mortgages for the Buckner home of fallen Fort Osage Fire Captain Andrew Donner and the Kansas City home of fallen Lenexa Fire Lieutenant Michael Wells, according to KCTV5. That program, the Fallen First Responder Home Program, pays off mortgages for families of officers and firefighters who die on active duty or from related illnesses and leave behind young children, the station reported.
In September, the foundation paid off the mortgage on the home of fallen Independence Police Officer Cody Allen, who left behind his wife, Danyel, and their two children, KCTV5 reported separately. And in another case covered by KSNT, the foundation announced it paid the full mortgage on fallen Fairway Officer Jonah Oswald's family home, timing that payoff to Veterans Day as well.
