Siblings leave deep ‘imprint of joy’
Hundreds gather to honor children killed in house fire
Teachers and principals described the three siblings killed two weeks ago in a house fire as radiant souls who brought love and light to their schools.
Church of God in Christ officials talked about their devotion in such short lives to activities in their grandfather’s church.
Relatives commented and sang about the joy the children brought to the family.
Hundreds of people representing school, church and kinship communities touched by three children killed May 12 in a Tamina fire packed Christ United Methodist Church in The Woodlands to overflowing on Saturday. The outpouring illustrated how beloved the Mitchell children and their extended Johnson relatives are in the greater Houston area.
The oldest, Terrance Tyrone Mitchell Jr., was known as “T.J.” and served on the usher board at church. The 13-year-old also sang in the youth choir and played the drums. During his earlier years in Jasper, Ala., people called him “Mr. Obama” after the then-president because of his leadership qualities.
Kaila Elizabeth Mitchell, 7, was the only girl and emulated her mother so much she was known as “Lil’ April.” Also called “our star,” she served in the praise dance ministry
and the youth choir.
The youngest, Kyle D’Von Mitchell, enjoyed sketching, singing in the youth choir and playing the keyboard. The bespectacled 6-year-old was nicknamed “doodle bug.”
The tragic incident rewrote the story of the family and their community again.
The trio died after being trapped behind a wall of fire in the early-morning blaze at a family home. Three generations of a founding Tamina family were injured. They include the only surviving child, 10-year-old Adrian Mitchell; the children’s grandparents — Pastor Bobby Johnson of There-good Memorial Church of God in Christ in Willis and his wife, Carrie; and the children’s uncle, Jarvis Johnson, whose toddler daughter died in 2015.
The fire damaged three residences on the Johnson family homestead. The incident also refocused attention on Tamina’s fight for water access and what that means during an emergency. The community, settled by formerly enslaved people a century ago shortly after the Civil War, has no fire hydrants. Colorful caskets
April Johnson, the children’s mother, escorted Adrian to visit the colorful caskets after they cheerfully sang the service’s opening song. That’s when the loss hit the boy and he began weeping. His hand remains bandaged from fire injuries.
The community hasn’t only supported the Johnson-Mitchell family by showing moral support. More than $120,000 has been raised online to assist with funeral costs and hospital bills in addition to private contributions.
All of the children attended campuses in the Conroe Independent School District. The younger ones went to Houser Elementary, and T.J. was in his last year at Vogel Intermediate.
Houser Elementary Principal Angela Lozano shared memories of the children on behalf of heartbroken faculty, staff and students.
When the oldder boys attended the school, T.J. was a protective big brother who walked Adrian to class after they ate breakfast together.
“The day would not begin until he had given his little brother a big hug, and he did this every day,” Lozano said. Caring gestures
Adrian carried on the caring gesture for his younger siblings after T.J. was promoted to Vogel.
“Kyle left an imprint of joy,” Lozano remembered. “He proudly led the student parade through the hallways as a leader who demonstrated having a great attitude and working hard. He always sang the loudest and led his class in the morning dances each day in kindergarten.”
In December, Kaila was selected to represent her first-grade class by demonstrating a great work ethic by improving in math.
“She achieved her goal and was quite the mathematician,” Lozano said. “Kaila left an imprint of kindness. Everyone who knew her describes her as sweet, and her classmates also describe her as adorable, lovable and awesome.”
Colleen Duhon gives Vogel students “the grandma talk” among duties including coaching students through minor discipline problems. In the last three decades as a volunteer-turned-employee, she interacted with April Johnson and her siblings as pupils and then with the next Johnson generation.
“We probably never will understand why these precious children were taken from us so soon,” she said.
Duhon also quoted some of T.J.’s teachers: “You know in the movies when the prince comes in and music starts playing and butterflies start flying around and the sun shines a little brighter? That was Terrance. He sang to every song, danced to every beat and loved to dress up for school. We are sure it was because we all told him how handsome he was. He was loved by every child he met and had a God-filled heart.” Mounds of pencils
Vogel Intermediate Principal Tara Vandermark recounted the story of how a school supply became synonymous with the oldest Mitchell child.
“Terrance had trouble keeping track of his pencils, but his friends always helped him out,” she said. “Terrance would always find a way to repay the favor. Usually a smile would do the trick.”
Students from classes on his hallway covered his desk with mounds of pencils last year and surprised him by singing “Happy Birthday” as he walked into the room.
“He was definitely overcome — not by the hundreds of pencils on his desk — but by the outpouring of love by his classmates,” Vandermark said.
The loss of the Mitchell children united the Vogel campus, which “became a family” on May 12, the principal said, as teachers and students from across Conroe ISD visited the school to counsel and reminisce.
In the days after, T.J.’s classmates wrote cards to him. Many had pencils attached.