ROCK FALLS – People far and wide, moved by the tragedy that took the lives of five family members, are opening their hearts and wallets in an effort to help the two surviving children lay their parents and siblings to rest.

Patrick and Mary Hopkins, and their children, Maggie, 26, Donovan, 16, and Katie Jo, 13, were killed in a fire Wednesday morning at their home at 414 Second Ave. A cause has not been determined, but it is presumed to be accidental, fire officials have said.

Two other children, Becca, 21, and John, 23, were not at the house that night.

One account, the Hopkins Family Memorial Fund, raised $18,329 from 299 donors in 1 day. Its goal is $30,000. It was set up by Phil Adams, Mary Hopkins' brother.

The other fund, called Hope for Hopkins, had raised $7,783 of its $15,000 goal in 1 day, thanks to 169 donors.

Memorial funds also have been established at all Sterling Federal and Sauk Valley bank branches.

Visitation for all five family members will be held from 2 to 8 p.m. today at Newman Central Catholic High School, 1101 St. Mary St., where Donovan was a sophomore. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, also at the school.

Schilling Funeral Home and Cremation is handling arrangements. Their full obituaries are available at www.schillingfuneralhome.com and on Page A4 of today's editions.

Meanwhile, three state fire marshal investigators still are trying to determine the cause of the fire, which started around 5 a.m. in the living room of the two-story home, and blazed up the staircase “like it was a chimney,” killing four people in one bedroom and the fifth in a second bedroom, said Bill Milby, deputy Chief of Twin City Fire Command.

The bedrooms were directly above the living room.

First-in firefighters heard a smoke alarm on the first floor, but not the second, Milby said.

Smoke inhalation is the likely cause of death, Whiteside County Coroner Joe McDonald said.

Three dogs, also in the bedrooms, also died in the blaze.

Patrick Hopkins, 61, worked at Allied Locke in Dixon; Mary, 49, worked at Kelley’s Market Mobil gas station in Sterling; and Maggie worked at the Sterling Walmart. Donovan played football, basketball and baseball for the Comets, while Katie Jo was a seventh-grader at St. Andrew Catholic School in Rock Falls.

Becca, who works at Sterling Federal Bank, lived with her parents, and so lost all of her possessions.

TO DONATE

You can click on Hopkins Family Memorial Fund or Hope for Hopkins to donate online.

Donations also can be made at all Sterling Federal branches, in Rock Falls, Sterling, Dixon, Morrison, Mount Morris, Byron and Clinton, Iowa, or Sauk Valley Bank branches in Rock Falls, Sterling, and Dixon.

Checks, with "Hopkins family" in the memo field, also can be mailed to Sterling Federal Bank, PO Box 617, Sterling, IL 61081; or Sauk Valley Bank, 201 W. Third St., Sterling IL 61081; or 904 First Ave., Rock Falls, IL 61071.