Sunday, August 09, 2009

Remembering Maggie Lee

What a sad and terrible week it's been. Here's a good account of the extraordinary, jam-packed funeral service in Shreveport for my lovely, departed niece Maggie Lee Henson, and a number of other substantive stories about her and the bus crash that took her life from the Associated Baptist Press:
An astonishing 951 people watched a live webcast of the standing-room only service at First Baptist Shreveport. Maggie was buried in Tyler not far from my mother's grave at Rose Hill cemetery; I'm thankful she's at peace and am now pulling for my brother's family as they struggle to deal with their loss and regain some sense of normalcy. My nephew Jack (10) restarts school this week, so I'm hopeful getting back into that routine will be good for everybody. This whole episode must have seemed like an out of body experience - it would be absolutely annihilating to lose a 12-year old daughter as bright, happy and wonderful as Maggie Lee.

One amazing aspect of this event was the online outpouring of support my brother's family received, evidenced on this page set up for her on the website CaringBridge. John and Jinny's updates and the many thousands of guest book entries are as inspiring as they are heartbreaking.

Thanks to all the friends and readers who've expressed their sympathy and support in this difficult time. I definitely appreciate it.