Gazing at a photograph of her church sister, which was mounted at yesterday’s memorial service in Bayfront Park in Bimini, Antoinette Stuart said she knew Salome Rolle was prepared for eternity when she boarded the ill-fated Chalk’s seaplane on December 19.
Ms. Rolle, 57, and her sister, Genieve Ellis, 65, were among the 20 people who perished when the plane crashed off Miami Beach as horrified beachgoers looked on.
Barely able to speak, Mrs. Stuart said in a choked tone that the night before Ms. Rolle left for Florida she attended a service at Holy Name Catholic Church in Bailey Town wearing her effervescent smile.
“Salome was one of those people, you could really feel that God was with her,” Mrs. Stuart told The Bahama Journal. “Salome was always a peaceful person, one of those you could depend on to always be the peacemaker whenever any situation arose, a very dedicated person.”
Also attending the memorial service for the crash victims in Bimini was Freda Rolle, who lost her daughter, Sophia Sherman and her granddaughter, Bethany Sherman, in the crash.
Ms. Rolle said she’ll have to take each day at a time if she’s to survive.
“I can’t really explain it,” she said of her grief as she clung to another woman for support. “[Sophia] was a loving person, a beautiful and devoted daughter and so was Bethany, 16 months old. The last six weeks of her life, it was me and her and I got so attached to her, a sweet, smart little girl.”
Derek Saunders also expects to grieve for a very long time for his sister-in-law, Carolyn Burke, who is originally from North Carolina, but fell in love with Bimini several years ago and made it her home.
He said Ms. Burke lived with him and his wife next to their pottery studio on the island and quickly became an important fixture in the community, especially with the children.
“She’s going to be really missed,” said Mr. Saunders, who added that he had been trying to get Ms. Burke, 60, down to Bimini for about 20 years.
Ms. Burke was said to be well loved in Bimini, having started a story time hour for children in the community on Saturdays.
Through her tears, one woman remarked that her son used to call Ms. Burke, “Ms. Story time.”
Mr. Saunders said he expects his family to have a rough time getting through this tragedy, but he said the support from people across the world has been tremendous.
“She was an angel,” he said of his sister-in-law. “By being around her, it rubbed off; it glowed.”
Edith Romer Johnson, whose niece Sabrina Dean and her baby girl, Sabrea Dean, also died in the crash, said she is grateful for the good memories she has.
Mrs. Johnson believes tragedies for some people are harder to bear because some of them struggle to find good memories to hold onto.
She said her 31-year-old niece was “the best”.
Mrs. Johnson added that there isn’t much to cling to now so she hopes to save a message Ms. Dean left on her answering machine for as long as she lives. She knows it’s a voice she’ll never hear again.
Mrs. Johnson, who lives in Grand Bahama, said she never got a chance to meet her four-month old grand niece.
“It’s hard,” she said. “My brother (Ms. Dean’s father), who’s here from Indiana is taking it pretty hard.”
During the memorial service, religious leaders urged the bereaved families not to question God, but to accept his will.
“What do you do, my friends, when all of a sudden you are faced with questions for which you seemingly have no answers?” asked Bishop Neil Ellis. “What do you do when you’re faced with sudden, catastrophic and tragic events that will ultimately change and rearrange your life forever?
“I have one word for you. That is the time you must find the strength to look to a higher power.”
Prime Minister Perry Christie, who made his second trip to Bimini since the crash, again spoke of an “irrepressible” spirit, which he said assures survival in times of unspeakable grief.
“You are called upon again to demonstrate in all your pain, in all your suffering that you are also leaders in your commitment and belief that the Lord would not have placed on you a burden that you cannot bear,” Mr. Christie said.
“And so long therefore as you remember that, you shall be under girded by the fact that the prayer warriors of this country – from Inagua to Bimini – are keeping you in their prayers.”
He assured Biminites that the nation will not abandon them in their darkest hour.
Member of Parliament for Bimini and Minister of Tourism Obie Wilchcombe said Biminites were facing unspeakable grief.
“Within a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, happiness turned to pain; joy was replaced by anguish, and hope gave way to despair,” Minister Wilchcombe said.
“Eleven plus one of our people here in Bimini would not be home for Christmas-Every family in Bimini affected. Every Bahamian from Inagua to Bimini touched by the inescapable pain caused by grief.
“It was Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II who in 2001 reminded us that grief is the price we pay for love. Yes, this is our season to grieve, but we are reminded the weeping may endure for a night, but our God promises that joy will come in the morning.”
The Bimini crash victims included Jacquelyn Stuart and her daughter, Nyesha Fox; Don Smith and his grandson, Jervis Stuart; husband and wife, Barto and Sabrina Dean along with their baby, Sabrea; Sophia Sherman and her daughter, Bethany; sisters Genieve Ellis and Salome Rolle; and Carolyn Burke.
Mr. Saunders said a funeral service was held for Ms. Burke in North Carolina on Tuesday and her ashes were to have been buried yesterday.
He said his sister-in-law’s body was so badly scarred in the crash that the family decided to have her cremated.
Funeral services for the other Bimini victims are scheduled for the weekend.
Among the crash victims who were on their way to visit Bimini were husband and wife Sergio and Jackie Danquillecourt; father and son Lawrence and Eric Johanes; and Marlin Nochtigal and Richard Rutecky.
The plane’s pilot was Michelle Marks and the co-pilot was Paul Desantos.
Another memorial service for all the victims was planned for South Florida last night, according to U.S. Congressman Kendrick Meek, who attended the Bimini service. The Bahamas Christian Council has planned another one for 7pm today at Faith United Missionary Baptist Church in New Providence.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
