Family, friends say final farewell to 3 children killed in Greene fire
Al Loring spoke of innocence on Thursday – the innocence of three children who lost their lives in a Greene County fire. “That innocence is the foundation of children, and I think that’s what hurts the most here,” Loring said after the private family funeral for Donna Jo Arthur, 5, Josh Arthur Jr., 3, and Christopher Arthur, 2, at the Owen-Neely Funeral Home in Blacksville, W.Va.
The children were among seven people who died when fire swept through Steve and Rebecca Eddy’s rented 1-1/2 story Valley Farm Drive home on Saturday.
State police are continuing to investigate what started the fire, but family members and friends have said that there was no natural gas service to the home. Space heaters and a wood-burning stove were being used to provide warmth.
The fire also took the lives of Rebecca Eddy, 26, and her three daughters, Tiffany Blake, 10, Rebecca Blake, 9, and Diamond Blake, 7. On Wednesday, Eddy and her children were buried in a single casket in Rogersville, Greene County.
Loring, a relative who has been acting as a family spokesman, said the Arthur children also were buried in a single casket. Josh Arthur Sr. and Judy Yeager Arthur were their parents.
Arthur Sr., his brother Steve Eddy, Rebecca Eddy’s brother Robert Husner, and her mother, Lucille Treat, also were in the house when the 3:30 a.m. blaze broke out, but escaped.
“Children make us feel safe, they make us feel loved, they make us feel warm and protected,” he said.
Although it is parents typically charged in the role of protectors, Loring said he spoke during his eulogy of how children make the adults around them feel secure because of their innocence.
“It is a give and take, and the give and take was as much as we made them feel secure, they gave us security,” he said.
During the funeral, Loring said the family played the theme song to the Dukes of Hazard, a favorite television show for one of the Arthur children.
“They loved the movie and the look of the car (the General Lee). It was hurtful because it was a favorite, but at the same time, it was uplifting that you could use something that you tied to your child,” Loring said.
Loring said they family also played the song “Daddy’s Hands” by Holly Dunn and two family members read poems.
Loring said the children’s parents showed “exemplary strength” as a close-knit family gathered to mourn their losses together.
He said the love and closeness within the families is what will help them survive the tragedy.
“It’s not so much that it’s a tough road, but it’s a road that’s been unpaved,” he said. “This family is going to have to pave their own road” in coping with the loss.
He said Steve Eddy, Josh Arthur and their two brothers are “the epitome of iron, of the true family” who will lean on each other to heal.
Loring said the family wanted Thursday’s funeral to be private so that the family could mourn together. He said that everyone has appreciated the well wishes of the public and the outpouring of emotional and material support that has been offered.
He said the family is now waiting for the state police to determine what caused the fire. He said with the funerals behind them, the family is willing to work with police to put the tragedy behind them.
With the funerals now done, Loring said the family will begin the long journey of coping with such a devastating loss.
“There will be subtle reminders handed to them every day, no matter what happens. They will take the time to adapt to having those reminders sneak up on them,” Loring said.