Family Displaced After Mother Dies in House Fire in Wyandotte

Dena Cooper, 39, and her brother Charles Shephard, 26, were amazed Monday at the amount of support they received after losing their mother, pets, home and personal possessions in a house fire Friday night.

The brother and sister shared the house at the corner of Maple and 14th streets with their mother, Iris Shepherd, 56, and Cooper's two boys, Christian, 11, and Cameron, 8. Iris Shepard was the only person in the house a the time of the fire. 

Cooper and her family have been living off the generosity of the Wyandotte community for the past three days. Clothes, toiletries, cash and gift cards began pouring in from anonymous donors just hours after Wyandotte firefighters put out the blaze. Teddy bears, balloons and keepsakes can be found on the front porch of the charred and boarded up house.

"I'd like to tell everybody thank you," Cooper said. "We appreciate everything everybody has done."

Wearing clothing provided by donors, Cooper and Shepherd told Patch Monday afternoon their mother might not have had an insurance policy and will, likely, make paying for funeral services near impossible.

"Right now we want to come up with a decent burial, because we don't know about any policies right now," Cooper said. "It's not looking good, so far."

Now without a home, the family is currently living at a Holiday Inn in Southgate. Their renters insurance will only provide enough money for them to stay at the hotel until Aug. 12, after which they will be forced to find a place to live.

Cooper and Shepherd hope to stick together through this family tragedy. They also hope to stay in Wyandotte for the sake of Cooper's boys. Christian and Cameron are students at Washington Elementary School and Wilson Middle School.

"We prefer to stay in Wyandotte to keep the kids in the school system and keep them close to their friends and in the community," Shepherd said. "We really love the City of Wyandotte."

Cooper and Shepherd said their mother was a strong and kind women.

"She was really friendly," Cooper said. "She had a lot of friends in Wyandotte."

Patch recently posted a photo of the family's two dogs on the Wyandotte Patch Facebook page. One dog died in the fire and the other remains unaccounted for. Because of the severity of the burns, they're unable to determine which dog died.

The family is asking for help from the community to help them find their missing dog and bury their beloved mother.

Contact Dena Cooper 313-598-8055 or Charles Shepherd shepchs@gmail.com to offer financial support or tips on the missing dog.