Local wounded veteran and his family surprised with a mortgage-free home

ROYSE CITY, TX – July 9, 2021 — Local Army veteran John Endsley and his family received a surprise police escort this morning; Their destination: unknown. Well, at least to the Endsley family.

When they arrived in the new Parkside Village development in Royse City, they saw folks lining the sidewalk cheering them on. They also saw a big sign planted next to a mostly empty dirt lot which read, much to their shock and amazement, “Future home of U.S. Army SFC John Endsley & Family.”

Operation Finally Home, Trophy Signature Homes and MA Partners are building a brand new, mortgage-free home for the veteran Endsley and his family, to honor their service and sacrifice for our freedom. This morning, they surprised the family with the news and a special ceremony to break ground on the site of the future Endsley homestead.

“It’s a shock, a real shock,” said John Endsley as he stepped out of the escort truck, thanking all in attendance of the surprise event.

Army Veteran John Endsley greets folks on site of his family’s new future home.

The Civil Air Patrol Color Guard kicked off the ceremony with the presentation of the colors, followed by guest speakers John Marlon, Founder & CEO of MA Partners; Stewart Parker, President of Trophy Signature Homes; and Ronnie Lyles with Operation Finally Home.

Lyles said out of 350 mortgage-free homes the nonprofit has built for veterans and their families, this is their first ever project in Royse City. Operation Finally Home offers these homes to service members and their families who have become wounded, ill, or injured as a result of their service in the defense of our country.

“Even though you see John walking with a cane, he’s got a lot of other stuff he’s going to be dealing with. But hopefully we can relieve him the stress of the mortgage off his shoulders so he can concentrate on that stuff a little bit more,” Lyles said.

Ronnie Lyles, Operation Finally Home Project Manager

Endsley joined the Army in 2004 and served three years of active duty in Iraq. Like many veterans who return home from active duty, he suffers many physical and mental pains such as PTSD, hearing loss and chronic abdominal pains.

Thanks to the tremendous generosity of organizations like Operation Finally Home, the Endsleys have a place they can call home – one where they don’t have to worry about mortgage payments and instead can focus on healing and settling into life as a family.

“This is a life-changing moment for me and for my family,” Endsley said. “I can never, ever tell you guys how much this means to us, how much it means to my family, and how it’s going to change their story.”