The sound of hail pounding on her roof was just the beginning of Jackie Washburnís troubles on July 4, 2010. When the roof began leaking, Washburn and her husband filed a claim with the insurance company for a new roof, but the first check never arrived. To add to her woes, her husband of 34 years had suddenly disappeared.The mystery of the missing insurance claim check was about to be resolved.ìMy husband went to California and when he came back he said I had two weeks to tell him anything I needed to say to him and then he was leaving,î Washburn said. ìThen he moved back to California. By the time I realized where the money was, he had already spent it.îThe $10,000 check that was supposed to pay for a new roof for Washburn and her nine adopted special needs children couldn’t be recovered during her divorce, Washburn said. ìMy attorney said to just give up on the money,î she said. ìThey said I wasn’t going to get it back.îWashburn is a certified nurse’s assistant who provides care for the special needs children she has adopted. Colorado provides financial assistance to people who adopt special needs children. Washburnís friend Joyce Underwood assists her at the house with heavy cleaning. Underwood suggested that Washburn call roofing companies around town to find out if they could help fix the roof, but Washburn was hesitant.ìI thought, ëno, it’s not going to happen,íî Washburn said. ìNo one’s going to give a $10,000 roof to someone they don’t know.î Underwood called Total Roofing in Colorado Springs, the first company she thought of because a friend had great success with them. She told Washburn that the worst that could happen was a ìnoî answer.ìWhen she said Scott was going to consider it, I was in shock,î Washburn said. Scott McIntyre, owner of Total Roofing, said, ìWe had some extra shingles, and we decided to go ahead and replace her roof for her second insurance check, which was about $2,000.îWashburn said the company had to double check her story to make sure it panned out, but once they verified everything, they sent project manager Adam Fox to start taking measurements.It took time to finalize everything, but in January 2012, Washburn’s roof was completed.ìI just didn’t think that people gave away that much service,î Washburn said. ìI thought that it (roof) might not look so great but they were so professional. They are great people, and I have a beautiful roof!î
