Community surprises Fresno veteran with notes of love around his unfinished house

FRESNO, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – Home building group Lennar is gifting Fresno veteran Sgt. Nate Tomshack with a new home, and they surprised his family with special notes of love on the beams of the house Wednesday.

Tomshack served in the U.S. Army for six years, but now that he is back home, Lennar representatives say they want to make sure his home is filled with love.

Community members wrote dozens of messages of gratitude on the home’s framework.

“It just makes me feel special. It’s so cool to see all the people that have come out to support us,” Tomshack said while reading the notes.

Although the house is still unfinished, Tomshack says he can already feel love filling his future home.

His children even grabbed markers and wrote their own hopeful notes around the house.

“Every day our jobs are to provide shelter for families and it’s a very rewarding business to be in. But this takes it a step further, and it provides a place for memories to be made, for families to come together with friends. It’s really a special opportunity, especially for a veteran,” Susan Wilke with Lennar said.

Tomshack suffered knee injuries after driving over an explosive device while serving.

Lennar is building the 2,085-square-foot home with special modifications to meet his needs.

“The things that we are doing for him is making sure that there is a bath for him to soak in in the master… and in the backyard we are going to put a hot tub because that type of heat therapy is really important for him,” Wilke said.

Friends drove from all over the area and took time off work to write notes around Tomshack’s house.

They say they hope the home is a symbol of “forever” for him, and that his family makes lifelong memories there.

The home will not be finished until 2025, but Tomshack says seeing the community’s encouragement embedded into the home’s framework makes him even more excited to move in.

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