‘BLESSED AND GRACED’
The seven closed white caskets stretched along the church’s entire altar rail Friday morning.
Five contained the remains of children age 10 and under.
“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts,” their aunt, Linda Hollingsworth, told family and hundreds of other mourners at Metropolitan Baptist Church. my babies like that? Man, why you do my mama like that? My girl, man. Why you do that?’”
He has lived with these unanswered questions since the Sept. 12 fire that claimed the lives of his 10 loved ones. It was the largest number of fire fatalities from a single incident in Memphis since the 1920s.
On Friday, friends and relatives joined the devastated father in grappling with these unanswered questions during the funeral for his mother and six of his children at Metropolitan Baptist Church.
It was a time for reflection, but also a time for remembering the milestones and spirit of each of the victims.
Hundreds, including school ad-
ministrators and teachers of the children, filled the church at 767 Walker Avenue for the 10 a.m. service.
“We have been hit with paralysis and numbness since the loss of Ernest, Diamond, Alonzo and Kiera, said Key Coleman, principal at Cummings Elementary School where the four children attended.
Coleman said the school plans to install a plaque near the playground to honor the four, as well as name the school’s garden after the children.
“The children’s lives have touched many, many lives,” Coleman said.
After the hours-long service, the seven gold and white caskets of Jett’s mother, Eloise Futrell, 61 and his six children — Angel Mitchell, 16; Cameron Hollingsworth, 9; Ernest Jett III, 9; Diamond Jett, 8; Kiera Jett, 5 and Precious Rose Jett, 2 — were taken for burial at Elmwood Cemetery.
Numerous elected officials attended the service, which took place less than a mile from the Jetts’ single-story brick home on Severson Avenue in South Memphis. A faulty cord to the window unit of an air conditioner caused the house fire at Severson that claimed the lives of the 10 victims.
Jett was not at home at the time of the fire.
Distraught over the loss of his mother, girlfriend and children, Jett did not speak at the funeral. He is still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy. Every day, he goes by the South Memphis house where he grew up and was raising his children.
“I come by because I can’t believe they gone,” he said, earlier in the week while visiting the scene.
He recalled playing hideand-seek in the yard. And he reminisced about the children running down the driveway to greet him as he returned home each day and making sure their homework was done.
“They were my pride and joy. They were beautiful, smart kids,” he said. “I thought that we would always be together.”
The tragedy leaves multiple grieving families.
Carol Collier was not related by blood to the other victims, but she was an integral part of their kinship network. Her family lived two houses down from the Jetts.
“It was a straight up village over here with these three houses,” said family friend and neighbor Shondra Hampton. “My mom is grandmama to everybody over here. Her blood pressure hasn’t been normal since the night of the fire. We are all hurting.”
Four decades worth of bonds connected the Colliers and Jetts, who started as neighbors but grew into family.
Collier, 56, moved in with Jett’s mother a few years ago to help take care of his grandmother. Collier was a consummate caregiver, her family recalled.
Collier’s family will hold her funeral today at Church of Greater Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church at 3090 Trezevant Street. The visitation is at 10 a.m. and the service will follow at 11 a.m.
On the same day, other loved ones will remember Jett’s girlfriend, LaKisha Ward, 27, and their son, Alonzo, 7.
Relatives will hold the funeral for Ward and Alonzo at 1 p.m. at New Salem Baptist Church at 2237 South Parkway East. Visitation will begin at noon at the church.
“They were all my world,” Jett said. “I had thoughts of not even living no more, but I know I have to because I have other kids and I’m going to save them through God. Ain’t nothing else but God.”