Derrick Scott, Gleaner Writer
Dijon Plummer Sr. grieves over his wife Tracey-Ann at a thanksgiving service in Atlanta, Georgia, yesterday. Mrs. Plummer and her children Dilia and Dijon died when their home was razed on December 22. - PHOTO BY DERRICK SCOTT
ATLANTA, Georgia:
HUNDREDS PACKED the New Hope Seventh-day Adventist Church in Atlanta yesterday to pay tribute to the lives of Tracey-Ann Plummer, her stepdaughter, Dilia and son Dijon.
The three perished in a fire which engulfed their five-bedroom house in Atlanta on December 22.
Yesterday's four-hour-long service was filled with tears, grief and emotion as mourners wondered aloud why such a tragedy befell such a loving family.
A FATHER'S ANGUISH
The grief-stricken father and husband, Dijon Plummer Sr., expressed his grief to the congregation as he told of the "pain" that only he could feel.
"Why was my wife, my daughter and my son taken from me?" he questioned. "It is the work of this idiot devil. But that devil has lost,"
Plummer told of his wife's loving nature, the expectation of seeing his daughter after an extended period, and of his family's efforts to console him.
In a show of emotion, Mr. Plummer, with support from his two brothers, Clausyl and Valens, left the podium, opened the caskets of all three, placed his wife's wedding ring on her finger and kissed her.
"This ring was symbolic, as almost everyone who was at the wedding nine years ago watched me put this ring on this woman's finger, and they will watch me put this ring back on this woman's finger," he said.
He then went to each of the children's caskets and placed their Christmas gifts inside. Dilia's mother, Julia Brown-Allen, also placed Christmas presents in her daughter's coffin.
In paying tribute to Tracey-Ann, Debra Smith-Gordon told of her winsome personality and sweet spirit. She recalled how much she loved her boys and the teasing of the family about adding a girl to their family home.
FIRST TRIP FOR DILIA
And Samuel Allen, Dilia's stepfather, took note of the fact that this was her first trip to the United States from their home in St. Maarten to meet her extended family in Atlanta.
Dijon was remembered as being full of life, by his aunt, Jacqueline Plummer. She said he would be remembered for his endless energy and the way all who came in contact with him fell in love with him.
Jamaica's Honorary Consul to Atlanta, Vin Martin, noted that the tragedy had sent shock waves throughout the Jamaican community in Atlanta and the Caribbean country, the Plummers' homeland.
"As a community, we are all trying to cope with this tragic loss," he said. "For it is as if our own family members have been taken from us. The large turnout was an indication of the depth of feeling, the common concern and the sense of loss we all feel," Mr. Martin said.
All three victims were interred in the Kennedy Memorial Gardens, Ellenwood, immediately following the service.
