Gracefield bids farewell to tiny fire victims
Outside Paroisse La Visitation, where two tiny white caskets lined the base of the altar, family and friends of two children killed in a fire last month released dozens of pink, blue and white balloons into the sky.
Parents Teenah Snowden and Eric Courtney, along with relatives, consoled each Friday after the funeral for Matthew Robillard, 4, and his sister Melanie Courtney, 2, as the balloons slowly drifted out of reach, an act those gathered said symbolized their efforts to let go of the children.
“Time for me to go now. I won’t say goodbye,” a poem in the funeral program read. “Look for me in the rainbows way up in the sky.”
The sound of gasps and faint cries could be heard as the caskets for the two children were loaded into a hearse for the journey to their final resting place at the Hillcrest Cemetery in graves prepared by their father.
Minutes earlier, Snowden, Courtney and their children clung to each other in the front row of the packed Catholic church.
The two tiny white caskets were draped with flowers — pink for Melanie and blue for Matthew — and stuffed animals.
More than a dozen members of the volunteer fire department, many of whom responded to the Feb. 26 blaze at the Courtney home on Chemin Eloi-Lachapelle is Gracefield, sat in the first few rows of the church opposite the family.
The sound of Snowden’s 9-month-old son, William, happily playing with keys stood out during the sombre funeral for the two children whose deaths have left a small community in mourning.
The song Somewhere Over the Rainbow sung by the choir appeared to deeply affect the family.
Snowden clung to her husband and laid her head on his shoulder as the choir’s lead singer powerfully delivered the lyrics. Courtney held William tightly, rocking him back and forth.
Snowden briefly moved her head from her husband’s shoulder during the song to wipe tears from her eyes with a tissue.
Rev. Paula Mullin, the minister of the Trinity United Church in nearby Kazabazua, officiated the mass at the Catholic church in Gracefield, which was large enough to accommodate so many people.
Mullin told the crowded church it’s hard to know what to say in the wake of such a tragedy.
“You’re not alone,” she offered. “You really aren’t.”
Two of the Courtney children bravely spoke to the crowded church from the altar.
Supported by her mother, older sister Erika’s voice was so soft she was barely audible. What could be heard was that her little sister had a love of clothes. If a toy had buttons, Matthew liked it, Erika said.
Older brother Alex told the crowd Matthew loved to play games, before breaking down in tears.
He took off his glasses and wiped his eyes as he walked back to his seat.
Snowden and Courtney held their children and consoled each other after Alex and Erika shared memories of their younger siblings.
The choir sang the Sarah McLachlan song Angel as pallbearers escorted the two little white coffins from the church, followed by family and the firefighters.
The children were buried in the Hillcrest Cemetery in a family plot.