A Greenbank business owner started an effort to help a family that lost everything in a high-profile tragedy last month.

Mark Fakkema lost his life in an accidental explosion while he was creating homemade fireworks at a home near Mariner’s Cove on North Whidbey. The explosion and fire destroyed his parents’ home, cars and all of their belongings, according to the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

Hollie Swanson, owner of the Greenbank Farm Wine Shop, decided to help family members Brian Fakkema, Shirley Dalton and Jeff Dalton. She knows Jeff Dalton, Shirley’s son and Brian’s stepson, as the caretaker at Greenbank Farm and the Coupeville Wharf, which are owned by the Port of Coupeville.

“He is a wonderful, caring man,” Swanson said in an email.

Jeff Dalton lived in an apartment on the property but wasn’t at home at the time of the explosion. He also lost everything he owned.

“I can only imagine the stress and trauma they are under,” Swanson wrote.

As a result, she started a GoFundMe page to raise money to help the longtime Whidbey family.

“The family is devastated and any help you can give will go towards their immediate needs, the funeral costs, and aid to the family as they try to put their lives back together,” she wrote.

The page can be found at gofund.me/3b16efa0 or by searching “Fakkema” on the GoFundMe site.