Ten-year-old Wynter Parker’s life was turned upside down in an instant on Friday.
His mother Rokki Ferguson (30), father Sage Ferguson (26), younger siblings Sage Jr. (5) and Lovelee Bearcub (8), and uncle Ryan Four Souls (30) died in a two-vehicle crash in Chouteau County, leaving Wynter with no immediate family.
But his extended family stepped in to help. Wynter is currently in the care of his maternal grandparents, and his aunt Jordan Arca has created a GoFundMe account to help support him.
“I started the GoFundMe for Wynter just to have something that he knows will for sure be there with all the uncertainty surrounding him,” Arca said. “I didn’t want him or his grandparents to worry about later on.”
Wynter is a dedicated student at Box Elder elementary and has a bright future ahead of him.
“He’s really intelligent and I just don’t want any financial burden to be in the way, or anything to discourage him from applying to any of his dream schools,” Arca said. “He really loves school and shows a lot of the same interests his mother did about the environment. I just wanted him and his grandparents to have that peace of mind, down the road.”
Rokki (Parker) Ferguson was the 2008 valedictorian at Box Elder High School and played basketball at Minot State University before earning a degree in Civil Engineering at Montana Tech.
“She tried to teach her kids the same values that she had when she was growing up,” Arca said. “Her parents have always pushed her kids to go far in school, that the sky is the limit. And I know she was instilling the same value in their children.”
So far, the GoFundMe account has raised more than $13,000 toward its $20,000 goal.
“When Wynter’s uncle showed him the GoFundMe, he was really happy to see how kind strangers have been to him,” Arca said. “And he wanted to say thank you to everybody who has donated and for the nice words. Everyone who has said something nice for him, or anyone who has donated… I hope their generosity comes back to them tenfold, and that’s how the family feels about it as well.”
The extended family is in the early stages of planing a memorial basketball tournament in honor of Rokki, Sage, Ryan, Sage Jr., and Lovelee.
Click here if you would like to make a donation.
