ST. BRIEUX, Sask. -- Families of the victims of a tragic car crash that killed six people from a small community in east central Saskatchewan were finalizing funeral arrangements on Saturday, after one of the victims who was still clinging to life passed away.
Six victims. Four families. Four funeral services. Three days. It's a gruelling time for the families and their friends.
Volunteers fill hampers for mourning families Saturday at the St. Brieux Roman Catholic Church.
"When you're grieving like this, you're in shock. You don't even know what kind of counselling you might need," said St. Brieux mayor Pauline Boyer Saturday afternoon at the Roman Catholic church, which has become the focal point of this community of 500 people as it struggles to cope with the death of a woman, her two young daughters and three of their friends.
On Thursday afternoon, Charlene Bahan was driving the five little girls home from a birthday party in Melfort, about 40 kilometres away. As she approached the intersection where she needed to turn south, her vehicle missed the turn, went into a ditch, travelled up an embankment, across a hay field and into a water-filled dugout about 45 metres from the highway.
The SUV overturned once it went into the water and became completely submerged.
The first funeral, for 10-year-old Jasmine Coquet, will be on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday morning, the service for Mikayla Piatt, who was also 10, will be held, followed by a service for Bahan and her daughters Aspyn, 10, and Madison, eight. The Bahan funeral will be a Lutheran service in the Catholic church. The final service, for 10-year-old Meara Hunt, is scheduled for Wednesday morning.
On Saturday afternoon, women from the St. Brieux area were busy packing boxes of food for the four families.
"Where do we start?" wonders Kim Ells as half a dozen young moms look around the church's kitchenette where food is stacked on the floor and the countertops.
"Let's line up the empty boxes and we'll divvy everything up evenly," says Tyra Thomas, one of the organizers.
As the women sort through muffins, cookies, homemade bread and buns, they talk about the task at hand.
The townsfolk have also donated spaghetti sauce, chili, fruits and vegetables ??-- all ready to eat. Bags of carrots, peeled and cut into sticks, mushrooms, celery and cucumbers are carefully placed in the hampers.
Rose Bakos, her husband and granddaughter stop by the church with buns Bakos has made just this morning. She is embraced by Thomas.
"It's hard," whispers Thomas in Bakos' ear.
The two shed a few tears and Bakos heads out the door.
"It's my community," says Bakos haltingly when asked why she donated baking.
Community -- that's why they are all here, say the women -- community and faith.
"There's a reason for everything. We don't know the reason right now. We may never know, in our lifetime, the reason for it, but there is a reason for everything. You have to believe," said Thomas after the work bee.
"That they're in a good place," added Kimberly Martin.
In addition to providing food to the families, the community will also raise money to help them with loss of income during their grief and with funeral expenses. A pancake breakfast was to be held across the street from the church Sunday morning with the proceeds going to the families.
The outpouring of love also is healing for the volunteers.
"It's our therapy," said the town's mayor.
-- Canwest News Service
PREVIOUS
