Obituaries

Plainfield Memorial Planned for Man Killed in Texas Plant Explosion

Palos native Kevin Sanders spent five years working with the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency.

Editor's note: The story has been updated with photos and videos as Plainfield police, firefighters, members of PEMA and the Illinois State Police escorted Sanders to Overman-Jones Funeral Home in Plainfield on Saturday.

Kevin Sanders dedicated his life to helping people and animals.

“He died doing what he loved to do by serving and protecting others and will be forever remembered as a hero,” according to the obituary for Sanders, 33.

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A native of Palos Hills and former Plainfield resident, Sanders was among the first responders killed in an explosion as they battled a fire at fertilizer plant in West, Texas, near Waco on April 17. Fourteen people — including 10 first responders and two honorary first responders — died in the blast, and more than 200 have been reported injured.

A service to honor Sanders is scheduled for 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the Plainfield Fire Protection District headquarters, 23748 W. 135th St. in Plainfield.

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A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 8245 W. 111th St. in Palos Hills. Interment will follow at the Plainfield Township Cemetery.

Husband to wife Sarah and father to infant son Reeve, Sanders grew up in Palos Hills and graduated from Marist High School in 1997.

According to best friend Matt Stofko of Plainfield, Sanders spent five years working with the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency before moving to Texas, where he worked with the Bruceville-Eddy Volunteer Fire Department.

“He was also part of the Plainfield search and rescue team,” said Stofko, who returned this week from Waco, Texas, where he attended an April 25 memorial at Baylor University for those killed and injured in the blast.

During the ceremony, President Barack Obama paid tribute not only to those killed in the tragedy, but also the strength of the people of West. The president noted that much of the world remained focused on the tragedy at the Boston Marathon, but said that was probably OK with the residents of West.

“Until last week, I think it’s fair to say that few outside this state had ever heard of West. And I suspect that’s the way most people in West like it," he said.

“It was an amazing ceremony and I’m still speechless,” Stofko said Friday.

‘Kevin lived for the service of others’

Sanders’ obituary, posted on the Overman-Jones Funeral Home website, pays tribute to the fallen first responder, who was about to become an emergency medical technician. Sanders graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in animal science. He received his veterinary technician certification from Parkland College in 2003.

His obituary reads:

Kevin truly believed in the strength and goodness of people. His passion in life was helping and caring for others. He held several Registered Veterinary Technician positions in Champaign, IL, Fort Wayne, IN, Plainfield, IL, Waco, TX and Hewitt, TX. Kevin always did what he thought was right and strove to be the best he could be. He taught at Fox College in Tinley Park, IL and McLennan Community College in TX, inspiring greatness in his students. Kevin lived for the service of others through his participation in the Plainfield Emergency Management Agency in Illinois, the Bruceville-Eddy volunteer Fire Department in Texas and was soon to be an Emergency Medical Technician, having just passed his skills test.

Kevin loved caring for animals, working on cars, restoring his 1970 Dodge Charger, listening to music and attending concerts, watching the Chicago Bears and the Fighting Illini, playing paintball and spending time with his family. Kevin is survived by his wife, Sarah Sanders, and son, Reeve Sanders, his mother, Sandra Sanders, his maternal grandmother, Eleanore Frey, a sister Jeanette (Tim) White, a brother, Scott (Allison Muscolino) Sanders and many friends and extended family. Kevin was preceded in death by his father, Duane Sanders. He died doing what he loved to do by serving and protecting others and will be forever remembered as a hero.

How to help

Plainfield-area residents can make donations directly to the Sanders family in support of his wife, Sarah, and son, Reeve, by going to any Chase Bank branch and asking to donate to the account for Sarah Sanders of Eddy, Texas. Funds will be used at the family’s discretion for future education and other general expenses.

Donations can also be made online via PayPal by using the email address sandersfamilymemorialfund@gmail.com.

Sanders’ family also urges residents to consider donating to the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation to support the organization, which is helping the family through the tragedy. For more information or to donate, click here.


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