The family of the 87-year-old Denver man killed in a Longmont trench collapse last week has launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for his funeral expenses.

Robert Castillo died Tuesday after he was buried in a trench while doing repair work for his company, Castillo Excavation, the Longmont Fire Department said. Castillo had owned the Denver-based company since the 1970s.

Castillo’s granddaughter Brea Correa said he was an “extraordinary” man, working “literally in the trenches” at his age to continue providing for his family.

“He was a fixer of all things, a builder, a helper and the best father and grandfather ever created,” Correa said. “He was an incredible man and will be dearly missed by us all.”

Castillo was born in Mercedes, Texas, in 1934. The sixth of 13 children, he left school in the fifth grade to work alongside his family picking produce. This instilled a deep work ethic in Castillo, as his family said he “didn’t tolerate laziness.”

In 1953, Castillo married Martha Anglada and the couple moved to Denver where they raised a large family of several children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Correa said Castillo enjoyed watching stock car racing and drinking coffee at Swift’s Breakfast House on Santa Fe Drive every morning.

Since the GoFundMe was launched, more than $7,000 had been raised to cover Castillo’s funeral costs as of Monday afternoon. The fundraiser can be found at gofundme.com.

The fatal trench collapse happened Tuesday at noon when Castillo and his company were replacing a sewer line at a house at 152 Baylor Drive, the fire department said.

The cause of the trench collapse is under investigation. Officials with the fire department said the 9-foot-deep hole was not shored up, meaning walls and braces were not used to secure the trench.

An autopsy has been completed, but results regarding Castillo’s cause and manner of death are pending further investigation, the Boulder County Coroner’s Office said. Foul play is not suspected at this time.