Post by Melissa on Feb 1, 2011 21:06:32 GMT -5
www.post-gazette.com/pg/09056/951435-455.stm
'Reality of it' sets in for mourners of Kenzie Houk
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mourners came by the hundreds, heads bowed and clutching each other as they fought against last night's frigid air to remember Kenzie Marie Houk.
Outside DeCarbo Funeral Home in New Castle, they gathered in a line that stretched down the block and continued to grow, even as the hours passed and daylight slipped into darkness.
The crowd was a testament to Ms. Houk's character as a loving mother and considerate friend, those close to her said -- the kind of person who went to nursing homes to style women's hair and tried to treat her boyfriend's 11-year-old son, Jordan Brown, as her own.
The boy is accused of fatally shooting Ms. Houk, 26, and her unborn child while she slept.
"Once you get inside, the reality of it starts to set in," said longtime family friend James Loy, who drove from Calcutta, Ohio, for the visitation.
Friends and relatives spilled out of the funeral home, which director Roger DeCarbo said can hold about 300. Some filled a main chapel and others listened to the funeral service over speakers in adjacent rooms.
David Young, of Prevailing Word World Outreach Center, called Ms. Houk's slaying "hideous and horrific," but encouraged mourners to trust God as they try to grasp it. The Rev. Robert Joyce recalled Ms. Houk as an energetic child who grew up to be a loyal friend, sister, mother and daughter.
"Before the Energizer Bunny was invented, there was Kenzie Houk," he said. "You could always count on her."
Earlier in the evening, friends like Alycia Fortuna talked about the friend they had come to know and now had come to grieve.
"She brought so much joy into everyone's lives," said Ms. Fortuna, 23, who met Ms. Houk several years ago through friends and had helped her with her daughters' birthday parties. "This is absolutely a tragedy."
Absent from the gathering, relatives said, was Ms. Houk's boyfriend and Jordan's father, Chris Brown, who came to the funeral home for a private viewing earlier in the day.
"He's been taking this pretty hard," Ms. Houk's uncle, Willard Houk, told a group of reporters. "My heart goes out to Chris. Not only did he lose his girlfriend and baby, he may lose his son."
Jordan remained jailed yesterday in the Lawrence County Jail, but was expected to be moved today to a juvenile facility in Beaver County.
Ms. Houk's relatives have said they tried to incorporate Jordan into family activities, but the boy was increasingly jealous since he began sharing a home with Ms. Houk, who planned to name her full-term baby Christopher, after Jordan's father.
Also gone from the visitation were Ms. Houk's daughters, Jenessa, 7, and Adalynn, 4, who discovered her mother's body.
Friends said Ms. Houk was never far from her daughters, taking them swimming and to the movies. "Adalynn doesn't understand it," Willard Houk said. "She just knows her mother isn't around anymore."
Sadie Gurman can be reached at sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.
First published on February 25, 2009 at 12:00 am
'Reality of it' sets in for mourners of Kenzie Houk
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
By Sadie Gurman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mourners came by the hundreds, heads bowed and clutching each other as they fought against last night's frigid air to remember Kenzie Marie Houk.
Outside DeCarbo Funeral Home in New Castle, they gathered in a line that stretched down the block and continued to grow, even as the hours passed and daylight slipped into darkness.
The crowd was a testament to Ms. Houk's character as a loving mother and considerate friend, those close to her said -- the kind of person who went to nursing homes to style women's hair and tried to treat her boyfriend's 11-year-old son, Jordan Brown, as her own.
The boy is accused of fatally shooting Ms. Houk, 26, and her unborn child while she slept.
"Once you get inside, the reality of it starts to set in," said longtime family friend James Loy, who drove from Calcutta, Ohio, for the visitation.
Friends and relatives spilled out of the funeral home, which director Roger DeCarbo said can hold about 300. Some filled a main chapel and others listened to the funeral service over speakers in adjacent rooms.
David Young, of Prevailing Word World Outreach Center, called Ms. Houk's slaying "hideous and horrific," but encouraged mourners to trust God as they try to grasp it. The Rev. Robert Joyce recalled Ms. Houk as an energetic child who grew up to be a loyal friend, sister, mother and daughter.
"Before the Energizer Bunny was invented, there was Kenzie Houk," he said. "You could always count on her."
Earlier in the evening, friends like Alycia Fortuna talked about the friend they had come to know and now had come to grieve.
"She brought so much joy into everyone's lives," said Ms. Fortuna, 23, who met Ms. Houk several years ago through friends and had helped her with her daughters' birthday parties. "This is absolutely a tragedy."
Absent from the gathering, relatives said, was Ms. Houk's boyfriend and Jordan's father, Chris Brown, who came to the funeral home for a private viewing earlier in the day.
"He's been taking this pretty hard," Ms. Houk's uncle, Willard Houk, told a group of reporters. "My heart goes out to Chris. Not only did he lose his girlfriend and baby, he may lose his son."
Jordan remained jailed yesterday in the Lawrence County Jail, but was expected to be moved today to a juvenile facility in Beaver County.
Ms. Houk's relatives have said they tried to incorporate Jordan into family activities, but the boy was increasingly jealous since he began sharing a home with Ms. Houk, who planned to name her full-term baby Christopher, after Jordan's father.
Also gone from the visitation were Ms. Houk's daughters, Jenessa, 7, and Adalynn, 4, who discovered her mother's body.
Friends said Ms. Houk was never far from her daughters, taking them swimming and to the movies. "Adalynn doesn't understand it," Willard Houk said. "She just knows her mother isn't around anymore."
Sadie Gurman can be reached at sgurman@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1878.
First published on February 25, 2009 at 12:00 am