The neighbors who promised to keep three children home

In May 2025, Elena Patton was sitting in her garage while her four children played outside when her neighbor Linda Wolfkiel walked over with a question that was both simple and enormous: if something happened to Linda and her husband, Albert, would the Pattons take care of their three children?

Elena said yes. Within a year, both Linda and Albert were dead, and Elena and her husband, JD, became the permanent guardians of the Wolfkiel children. The Pattons' household grew from six people to nine, with the family trying to keep the children in the Camarillo neighborhood where they had grown up. 1

That promise had been made between close neighbors. If the Pattons' garage door is open, children on the street know they are welcome to play. Parents sit outside, talk over fences and share the ordinary traffic of the block. 1

The Pattons moved to the neighborhood in 2014. Linda was the first person to introduce herself, and the two women became close as their children played together. Linda called herself the block's "Mrs. Kravitz," after the nosy but well-meaning neighbor on the television show Bewitched. Elena eventually said Linda became her "person in the neighborhood." 1

Albert was more reserved, but he helped neighbors after Linda recruited him into the work of being involved. He had been a computer engineer with the U.S. Navy. JD had served in the Navy Seabees and retired as a commander. 1

Albert died on Dec. 8 at age 60 after an aggressive cancer diagnosis in October. Linda had surgery the next day and died Jan. 30 at age 57 after complications kept her from returning home. While the children stayed with their grandparents, neighbors put up Christmas lights, bought gifts, delivered meals and offered rides. 1

The three Wolfkiel children are 11, 12 and 16. They lived in their own home with a family friend until the end of the school year, giving them some continuity while the guardianship process moved through several court visits. After a June memorial, the two families moved into the Wolfkiel home while the Patton house was renovated. 1

JD said the goal is to preserve routines and some sense of normality because there is already enough turmoil in the children's lives. The Pattons' own children are 7, 8, 11 and 13, so the adults are also working out how nine young people can have both a shared home and private space. The children attend counseling, and Elena told the Star that she cannot fix every painful feeling for them. 1

Elena calls the three children her blessings. She and JD are also telling them stories about Linda and Albert, trying to keep their memories of their parents tied to the good community those parents helped create. 1

The Pattons did not choose to leave the neighborhood. JD said the support system there was part of the reason Linda and Albert asked them to keep the children close to home. That support now has a practical outlet: a neighbor created a GoFundMe campaign to help with renovations and the costs of raising seven children. The campaign description says the family is working to expand its home, upgrade vehicles and create a stable environment while funds connected to the children remain tied up in probate. 2

The Ventura County Star reported that the campaign had passed $30,000 toward a $100,000 goal when the story was published. Elena said the generosity gives the children another way to see that people know what they are surviving and believe they will make it through. 1

The Pattons cannot make the loss smaller, and no renovation can turn a family of nine back into the family that lived on the block before. They can keep the children near their friends, protect a few routines, tell the parents' story and leave the garage door open.

That is a lot of work. It is also a very clear kind of love.