OREM — The Seiperts' doorbell has been ringing all week, and the phone hasn't been quiet for more than a few minutes without someone dropping off food or clothes or calling to ask how they can help the grieving family.
"So much has just come to the door," said Sandy Seipert, the mother of Kevin Seipert, 36, who was killed when his Orem home caught fire early Sunday evening. "People are so kind."
She said neighbors, friends and members of the surrounding LDS wards have rallied to support Seipert's widow, Catia, and their two little girls, Alexandra, 4, and Erica, 12, who are staying with Seipert's parents.
One group of neighborhood kids even went around selling plums to raise money for the family.
"They donated the money to her, $200," Sandy Seipert said. "I'm sure they didn't have a tree that had that many plums on it."
Kevin Seipert had stayed home from church Sunday, apparently feeling ill, and was making food in the kitchen of their rental home on 79 S. 900 East. At some point a fire broke out, and when fire crews arrived just after 5 p.m., flames were coming out of both sides of the house, according to Orem police.
Initial reports were that food left on the stove might have started the fire, which caused nearly $200,000 in damage to the home.
As crews fought the blaze, the home became unstable, and a rescue group was forced outside to fight the fire. When they were able to go in, they found Seipert in the doorway of a back bedroom and rushed him to Timpanogos Regional Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Seipert's funeral will be Friday at 1 p.m. at the Orem 5th Ward chapel at 800 E. 50 South, with a viewing today from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary on 495 S. State.
Kevin Seipert's loss has hit the community hard, especially the employees at Niels Fugal Sons Co., where he had worked for nearly seven months.
The office has sent flowers to the mortuary but has also set up a donation jar at work, which they will give to Catia Seipert, said Carl Sundberg, project manager and Kevin's boss.
"He was a great employee," Sundberg said. "He was always looking to make other people happy. He (wanted to) do what he could to make it an enjoyable place to work. He was always making people laugh, and he'll really be missed."
Sundberg said watching the donation jar fill up has also shown him how much Kevin Seipert was loved by employees in other divisions of the company.
He said he and several other employees are collaborating to write memories about Seipert and detail what they appreciated about him — a gift they will also present to Catia Seipert.
A separate fund has been set up in Catia Seipert's name at any Zions Bank.
Seipert grew up in Orem and attended Orem High where he played offensive lineman on the football team, his mother said.
He loved to plant tomatoes in his often-small gardens and enjoyed working with wood. He had made several of the pieces of furniture in the home, which friends and family rushed in to save from the smoke damage, Sandy Seipert said. The family wanted something for the children to help them remember their father.
"The (youngest one) wants to go home every night," Sandy Seipert said. "She says, 'I want to go home to daddy,"' Sandy Seipert said. "That's what's tough."
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com