Aaliyah and Angel Regular wore blue dresses and white shoes as they shared a white coffin Wednesday afternoon. Damaria Brinkley stood beside the open casket containing the girls, ages 6 and 3, and brushed her hands through her nieces’ hair.
Relatives and family friends filled the Gregory B. Levett & Sons Funeral Home in Decatur to view five of the six people killed in a DeKalb County house fire.
The fire Dec. 14 killed 30-year-old Terryona Regular, her daughters Aaliyah and Angel, and two uncles, 49-year-old Pedro Coney and 55-year-old Timothy Regular.
The house was owned by family matriarch Diane Lay, 61, who died from her injuries Tuesday.
“My babies are gone,” said Octavia Regular Cooper, Terryona’s mother.
More than 20 people visited the family within the first hour of the visitation, which was slated to last eight hours. The first page of the family’s visitation signature book was quickly filled with messages of support.
Terryona also wore a blue dress because it was her favorite color, Cooper said. Her coffin was partially covered by a wreath of white and blue flowers.
The two uncles had closed caskets due to the extent of their injuries.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Funeral personnel put life-sized photographs of the two men beside their coffins. The attendees spoke warmly about Coney’s smile in the photo, saying it took a lot for him to break frame and smile over something.
One family friend was so emotional that she slapped Timothy Regular’s coffin and sat next to him. She grieved and discussed how she wanted to call Coney on Tuesday night to discuss sports before she buried her face into her sleeve.
Several journalists with cameras lingered outside the building throughout the day in an effort to access the family. At the same time, several other families were present to honor their own deceased relatives.
Inside the building, Cooper and others discussed how her granddaughters loved to eat and laugh.
Aaliyah’s nickname was “Moonpie” because it was her favorite snack, Cooper said. She said Angel was called “Cheeks” for the way her face swelled up when she smiled.
Brinkley, who is Cooper’s other daughter, is one of the four survivors.
“I’m glad she was able to get out but them girls,” Cooper said.
In the house of 10, in the neighborhood off Glenwood Road, everyone was sleeping Dec. 14 when the smell of smoke filled the building, Brinkley said. The fire trapped them all inside until firefighters arrived to rescue the survivors.
Investigators do not know what started the fire, but Cooper and Brinkley said they think it was an electrical accident because a neighbor said he heard an explosion before the fire began after midnight.
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Credit: Steve Schaefer
Brinkley said she and her children, as well as Terryona and her girls, moved into Lay’s house two weeks ago. Brinkley said they had to move because their landlord sold their place without advance notice, displacing them.
Annie Jackson, a family friend, told Brinkley that “Diane used to spoil you rotten” when Brinkley was a child.
“We’ve been crying and mourning all day,” Jackson said. “I just can’t stop crying.”
Jackson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Lay was a precious and strong person who loved everybody.
“When Diane used to cook, you were thinking she was cooking for the neighborhood,” Jackson said. “She may be gone, but nobody can take the memories away.”
Bonita Lacy, Cooper’s longtime friend, said Lay was a McDonald’s manager who used to give everybody a job at the fast-food restaurant. Lacy called the surviving family “a good family that sets an example.”
A GoFundMe account that was started to raise money for funeral expenses has netted more than $40,000. But the Rev. Dr. Andre Walker, who came by to share his condolences with the family, said the community needs to give the family much more support financially, emotionally and mentally.
A funeral for the family is scheduled at noon Thursday at Rainbow Park Baptist Church in Decatur. The service will be livestreamed on Facebook, YouTube and RainbowParkBaptist.org.
