Wang funeral: a time for giving comfort and sharing grief

by Peter Jakey– Managing Editor

The caskets of five family members who died in a house fire last week were placed end-to-end in front of the altar at St. John Lutheran Church of Rogers City during a funeral service last Friday, where they were remembered by more than 900 people. Kellie Wang, the only survivor of the early morning blaze February 12, sat in the front pew with members of her immediate family. She held roses in one hand and wiped away with a single tissue with the other. Seated next to her in a chair placed in the aisle was high school student Michael Forton, who was Steve?s best friend.

Kellie?s husband, Kirt, 38, their son Steven, 16, and their daughters, Sarah, 15, NaLeah, five, and Emily, three, all lost their lives in an early morning fire at their home located at West Orchard and South Sixth streets. The bronze caskets with the bodies of Kirt and Steven were on each end. In between were two white caskets with gold shading and angels at each corner, containing the bodies of Sarah, NaLeah, and Emily. NaLeah and Emily were placed together, side-by-side in one casket. An open casket service for family and friends was conducted the day before at the Beck Funeral Home.

THROUGHOUT THE day people walked solemnly by the four caskets during the public visitation to offer their last respects. Some would pause by one or more, or stop and kneel to offer a prayer. Visiting the church were local uniformed firefighters, emergency workers, classmates of Steven and Sarah, as well as people they attended church with over the years. A slide show of photos produced by Curt Goldsborough of Rogers City Baptist Church was on display in the church lobby and in the basement. Pastor Randy Waibel of Sunrise Assembly Church, the church the Wangs had been attending, said the service was a time to search for comfort during a time of deep sorrow. ?Lord, we call upon you to do what seems to be the impossible,? said Waibel in the opening prayer, ?that is to comfort hearts and to strengthen minds. Give us a vision of hope to live another day.?

Waibel was followed by a sign language rendition of MercyMe?s ?I Can Only Imagine? by Tammie Alexander, who stood in front of the large three dimensional cross at the altar. During the song, Sally Warwick, Kellie?s mother, had one arm around her daughter and the other raised in praise. Pastor David Rogers of Rogers City Baptist Church took the pulpit next to offer thoughts for the family.

?MANY OF you have come here today to carry your friends through a very difficult time,? said Rogers. ?Many of you have prayed for God?s strength, and that his peace, and that his comfort, and that his sweet presence would be felt today. Thank you for praying. Your prayers are working.? Warwick followed Rogers to the pulpit and said she knows people are sharing their grief. ?At the same time, there are no words to express to each and every one of you what you have done for us by being here tonight; we are awed by your love and affection.? Warwick remembered Kirt as a child and as an adult. She said he became ?our dear, dear, best friend. So dear, we can hardly bear his loss.?

She recalled Steven wanting to grow up and be like his uncle Joe Brewbaker and become a police officer. She also remembered Emily and the other girls making her laugh. ?We will laugh again, Kellie,? said Sally looking at her daughter in the front row.

?Our family, we will not curse God, we will praise God and live for every moment for every joyful memory that we have,? she added.

Also speaking was family friend, evangelist Lyle Jullette, who married Kirt and Kellie and traveled from Florida for the services, as well as Jan Stevenson, who read a poem. The theme of Rogers? sermon was ?steps.? He told Kellie that God wants her to take ?one step at a time.? He said on different occasions Kirt, Steven, and Sarah all ?turned to Christ by faith for salvation for forgiveness of sins.? He added that it was a simple, but important, step.

Rogers said the step Kellie took in her life February 12 led to the ?heartbreak of a lifetime,? but also meant each one of her lost family members took ?one last giant step and landed in heaven.?

?Family and friends, I can tell you this evening, based on the authority of the Word of God, that this evening the Wang family is enjoying heaven.? Rogers was then accompanied on the piano by his wife Sherri for the song, ?Going Home.?

WAIBEL DELIVERED the message and a fi

nal prayer. He told the hundreds gathered that he contemplated what he could bring to them in this type of setting. He preached about three divine truths as words of encouragement. The first, he said, was ?to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.? The second was: ?In his presence is fullness of joy and pleasure evermore.? Waibel told Kellie that her children are no longer afraid, mad, sad, or crying.

?You could even pray on occasion?Lord, when you see Emily, when you see NaLeah, when you see Steven, when you see Sarah, when you see Kirt, will you just let them know I love them and I miss them.?

The third divine truth was ?it won?t be long.? He said a lifetime here is a blink of an eye compared to eternity. The service concluded with Dan Gabara singing ?Shine On Us.? The following day, four hearses transported the caskets to Forest Lawn Cemetery for a private burial. The family traveled to the gravesite in Brewbaker?s Harley Davidson mini-bus.

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