UPDATE: Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Friends of an Andover family are reaching out to help them after the lost a son in Friday's deadly shooting at a Colorado theater.

Jonathan Blunk, one of the 12 people killed in that rampage at an Aurora, Colo, theater early Friday is the son of an Andover woman.

Friends of the Navy veteran's mother and step-father say the emotional and financial strains of the tragedy are immense. Those friends and members of Dawna and Lee Nygaard's church are helping in any way they can.

"They have asked for prayer's and that's what we're doing here," said Rev. Jim Edwards, Senior Pastor of Andover's First United Methodist Church. "I felt like on Friday morning when I got up and saw the news, that was one blow that I know everybody felt."

Edwards said he later learned a tragedy that shocked the nation had directly affected his community. He received word that Blunk was among those killed when, Colorado authorities say, James Holmes opened fire on a crowd viewing The Dark Knight Rises.

"As that news became closer to home, as we heard that it was one of our Andover families that had been affected in this tragic way, it got a little bit more difficult to deal with," Edwards said.

Friends of the Nygaard family say Dawna, her husband, Lee, and Jonathan's two brothers traveled to Colorado Sunday to attend vigils for the victims and to begin making funeral arrangements.

Those friends have established a benefit fund to help the Nygaards with travel and funeral expenses. Donations can be made at Equity Bank in Andover to the Lee Nygaard Donation Account.

At the church, Rev. Edwards said his congregation will continue to offer support for the grieving members of their church family.

"We're a little bit isolated from the situation in that we cannot be with them or that we cannot share our support in that very personal way," he said. "We'll be here to support them however we can."

Jonathan Blunk had been living in the Denver area and was hoping to re-enlist in the Navy. He grew up in Reno, Nevada. Family friends say that is where his funeral will be held and it is where he will be laid to rest.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

A fund has been set up to help an Andover woman who lost her son in the Aurora, Colorado theater shooting.

Jonathan Blunk, 26, was one of twelve people killed inside a movie theater July 20th. Media reports indicate Blunk died while trying to protect his girlfriend when the shooting started. Blunk's mother is Andover resident Dawna Nygaard.

Jonathan Blunk grew up in the Reno, NV area. A fund has been established to help with funeral and travel costs.

Donations can be made to

Dawna and Lee Nygaard Donation Account
Number 101084846
Equity Bank
Andover, KS.