South Bend community shows support at Smith children's funeral at Century Center

SOUTH BEND — Heavy hearts joined the Smith family as the South Bend community united in a single purpose: support.

Community members gathered Monday, Feb. 5 at Century Center for the visitation and funeral for 11-year-old Angel Smith, 10-year-old Demetris Smith, 9-year-old Davida Smith, 5-year-old Deontay Smith, 4-year-old D’Angelo Smith and 17-month-old Faith Smith, all of whom died after a fire blazed through their home at 222 N. LaPorte Ave. two weeks ago on Jan. 21.

They offered prayers and shared stories and memories of each child.

■ Angel loved doing YouTube videos with her siblings. She was a good student and helper in the classroom, said her substitute teacher, Annie Butts.

■ Demetris, known for his bright smile, loved dancing with his classmates and was excited about being baptized.

■ Davida loved art. She called her art teacher her “school mom,” Madison STEAM Academy Principal Amanda Choinacky said.

■ Deontay was known as a “jungle boy,” his uncle, Andreas Garland, said about the boy who loved to climb trees.

■ D’Angelo looked up to his older brother, Deontay, his superhero.

■ Faith was known as a “boss baby” and was so full of life.

“These kids have been heavy on my mind,” said Robert Wilson, who didn’t know the kids or the family.

Having retired in 2015 after 20 years as a paraprofessional in a South Bend school, he thought he’d see a lot of the kids that he’d watched grow up, now as adults. And he did.

“I just wanted to feel the connection,” he said, noting how he’d grown up as one of 14 children. “It tears into my heart that none of them (Smith children) are left to carry on.”

At the visitation: Quiet mood as public begins paying respects to 6 kids lost to fatal fire

Wilson felt “satisfied” that he was present, he said, “because passing the house was too much to swallow. I hope (the children) can feel me.”

Just being there helped other folks who didn’t know the family, too, such as Rhonda Nicks, who lives downtown. She walked in holding red and pink balloons that said “Love you” and sat among the mourners.

“It hurts,” she said after the service, as she planned to put the balloons alongside the other memorials at the site of the burned house. “I cry all the time thinking about them.”

Norman Mitchell, who works at the grocery store Save A Lot foods, saw David Smith and Angel regularly.

“She would knuckle bump me and then run to catch up with him,” he remembered.

For Mitchell, attending the funeral was his way of moving on.

“I couldn’t put it to rest in my head until I paid my respects,” he said.

The search for answers continues

As the community shared in grief and love for each child, many were in search of answers to move on and to begin to heal.

For Mitchell, he needs closure.

“The community is waiting for answers about what transpired that day,” Mitchell said. “Then, we can all put it to rest.”

However, the investigation remains open as South Bend Fire investigators continue to work closely with South Bend Police and the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

Mayor James Mueller spoke at the funeral, grieving with the community as he stated, “We all want answers.”

“It’s hard to even fathom how this could happen. Why could this happen? How could this be prevented so it could never happen again?” Mueller asked.

“I have no answers,” South Bend Fire Chief Carl Buchanon said.

“All I can say, from the fire department’s perspective, is that everyone has been very supportive, and we’re trying to be as supportive to our personnel,” he said, extending support to dispatchers, medical personnel and everyone who was involved.

Mueller said, hopefully, those answers will be revealed in the coming days, but, he added, “there’s never going to be an answer that’s adequate when you lose children, to have their lives cut far, far too short.”

“If we could just offer a kind word, and offer our thoughts and prayers, that’s good enough,” Buchanon said.

Moving forward

For Buchanon, the process to seek healing is similar to what people experienced after 9/11, he said.

“A lot of us are feeling a lot of sadness and anxiety because of the events, but if you’re a spiritual person, then you understand that the higher power has all of this under control," Buchanon said. "We just need to do what we can down here and look after one another. That’s the key.”

To South Bend At-Large Councilwoman Karen White, moving forward consists of allowing the community to come together to express their feelings.

“It’s going to be a long process,” she said.

As she first heard the news of the fire, a myriad of thoughts swept through her mind.

“Sadness, shock, how could this happen?” she said. “But my mind went straight to the babies.”

“I thought at least one would survive. But, can you imagine? All of them? How do you comprehend that? How do you deal with that? It’s just sad, but we’ve got to look at ways and put some strategies and safeguards so this doesn’t happen again.”

For White, who’s experienced loss, some strategies include bringing in mental health specialists.

“The community has responded. That’s good. Now, we have to think about how to move forward, and there’s so many parts to that,” she said as she listed education, prevention and support.

“It hurts,” she said about loss. “You think you’ve dealt with it, and sometimes it comes back.”

Deadly fire: Catch up with all The Tribune's coverage of the LaPorte Avenue house fire that killed six

As some seek a path to move forward, others choose to see the gift the Smith children gave the South Bend community.

As Lynn Coleman spoke at the funeral, he chose to rename the “Smith Six” as the “Phenomenal Six.”

“They’ve done things in their short lifespan that any of us have been working at for years and haven’t been able to do," he said, “They brought people together across this community. Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, young, old, rich, poor. They connected people that never talked to each other. They caused people to come together to say, ‘What can I do to help?’”

Coleman closed his remarks by encouraging people to continue to contribute to the community in the spirit that they have since the fire.

“I now call them the ‘Phenomenal Six,’" he said, “and will always remember them as being such. We can all draw from this and be taught that we can all do something to give, to share, to offer. Don’t be so stingy and hold onto it. Open your heart. Love one another as (God) has loved us."

Tribute staff writer Joseph Dits contributed to this report.

Email Tribune staff writer Camille Sarabia at csarabia@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Funeral held for six South Bend children killed in house fire