Jamaya,was only 7,years old. During a visit to her great-grandmother's Bassfield home, was found dead Wednesday in a neighbor's closet after an afternoon bike ride. Her body was wrapped in a gasoline-soaked blanket after she had been beaten, strangled and her throat slit.
Thanks for the kindess of ~Mom of Angel Windy Cheryl Bright~for sponsoring Jamaya's memorial
By Natasha Smith
American Staff Writer
Lillie Burney Elementary School kindergartner Micah Baskin shared memories of 7-year-old Jamaya Griffith on Sunday, whom he described as his best friend and classmate.
"I'm going to love her forever," Micah told a congregation of more than 350 people who gathered at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate Jamaya's life.
Jamaya looked peaceful, dressed in a white frilly frock topped with a pink rose during her funeral. Mourners, including representatives from the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office, Hattiesburg Public Schools and The Salvation Army, stopped at the white casket lined in pink for one last look at a girl who touched two communities.
Sunday marked a day to remember and commemorate.
Faculty and staff from Lillie Burney Elementary School shared remembrances of the girl they described as "a ray of sunshine."Jamaya's kindergarten teacher, Carey Lilley, said Jamaya was a good student and that by losing Jamaya, she lost one of her own children."I've learned a lot about good and evil," Lilley said. "Jamaya represented all that was good."However, it was the remarks from fellow classmates that stirred the heart of Jamaya's mother, Regina Knight."It was beautiful, especially her classmates," Knight said. "I was very impressed with their courage."It was the courage of Knight and her family that the church's pastor, the Rev. Henry Kelly, spoke about during his eulogy.He told Jamaya's family there was no need for blame, because her death wasn't the fault of any family member."You can be in the room with someone you love and death can come when you are sitting there talking to them," he said.After the service, Hattiesburg Public Schools Associate Superintendent Jimmy Hopkins said the pastor's sermon served as a message of hope."She was everything we hope to be - someone who makes a difference in the lives of others," he said.Jamaya's mother said she was saddened, but she tried to look on the bright side."I know she's in a better place," Knight said.
Jamaya was then laid to rest in a cemetery, where her mother was given a teddy bear and a plaque.Knight also received lots of condolences and hugs as people passed by her, her mother and her grandmother.Mary Knight, the great-grandmother whom Jamaya was visiting the day she died, was not surprised by the big turnout."I could see it in the spirit," Mary Knight said. "She was a little angel."
Jamaya's body was laid to rest in Reese Cemetery, where several generations of her father's family are buried. More than 350 mourners turned out for the funeral.
Thanks for the kindess of ~Mom of Angel Windy Cheryl Bright~for sponsoring Jamaya's memorial
By Natasha Smith
American Staff Writer
Lillie Burney Elementary School kindergartner Micah Baskin shared memories of 7-year-old Jamaya Griffith on Sunday, whom he described as his best friend and classmate.
"I'm going to love her forever," Micah told a congregation of more than 350 people who gathered at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate Jamaya's life.
Jamaya looked peaceful, dressed in a white frilly frock topped with a pink rose during her funeral. Mourners, including representatives from the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office, Hattiesburg Public Schools and The Salvation Army, stopped at the white casket lined in pink for one last look at a girl who touched two communities.
Sunday marked a day to remember and commemorate.
Faculty and staff from Lillie Burney Elementary School shared remembrances of the girl they described as "a ray of sunshine."Jamaya's kindergarten teacher, Carey Lilley, said Jamaya was a good student and that by losing Jamaya, she lost one of her own children."I've learned a lot about good and evil," Lilley said. "Jamaya represented all that was good."However, it was the remarks from fellow classmates that stirred the heart of Jamaya's mother, Regina Knight."It was beautiful, especially her classmates," Knight said. "I was very impressed with their courage."It was the courage of Knight and her family that the church's pastor, the Rev. Henry Kelly, spoke about during his eulogy.He told Jamaya's family there was no need for blame, because her death wasn't the fault of any family member."You can be in the room with someone you love and death can come when you are sitting there talking to them," he said.After the service, Hattiesburg Public Schools Associate Superintendent Jimmy Hopkins said the pastor's sermon served as a message of hope."She was everything we hope to be - someone who makes a difference in the lives of others," he said.Jamaya's mother said she was saddened, but she tried to look on the bright side."I know she's in a better place," Knight said.
Jamaya was then laid to rest in a cemetery, where her mother was given a teddy bear and a plaque.Knight also received lots of condolences and hugs as people passed by her, her mother and her grandmother.Mary Knight, the great-grandmother whom Jamaya was visiting the day she died, was not surprised by the big turnout."I could see it in the spirit," Mary Knight said. "She was a little angel."
Jamaya's body was laid to rest in Reese Cemetery, where several generations of her father's family are buried. More than 350 mourners turned out for the funeral.
Jamaya,was only 7,years old. During a visit to her great-grandmother's Bassfield home, was found dead Wednesday in a neighbor's closet after an afternoon bike ride. Her body was wrapped in a gasoline-soaked blanket after she had been beaten, strangled and her throat slit.
Thanks for the kindess of ~Mom of Angel Windy Cheryl Bright~for sponsoring Jamaya's memorial
By Natasha Smith
American Staff Writer
Lillie Burney Elementary School kindergartner Micah Baskin shared memories of 7-year-old Jamaya Griffith on Sunday, whom he described as his best friend and classmate.
"I'm going to love her forever," Micah told a congregation of more than 350 people who gathered at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate Jamaya's life.
Jamaya looked peaceful, dressed in a white frilly frock topped with a pink rose during her funeral. Mourners, including representatives from the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office, Hattiesburg Public Schools and The Salvation Army, stopped at the white casket lined in pink for one last look at a girl who touched two communities.
Sunday marked a day to remember and commemorate.
Faculty and staff from Lillie Burney Elementary School shared remembrances of the girl they described as "a ray of sunshine."Jamaya's kindergarten teacher, Carey Lilley, said Jamaya was a good student and that by losing Jamaya, she lost one of her own children."I've learned a lot about good and evil," Lilley said. "Jamaya represented all that was good."However, it was the remarks from fellow classmates that stirred the heart of Jamaya's mother, Regina Knight."It was beautiful, especially her classmates," Knight said. "I was very impressed with their courage."It was the courage of Knight and her family that the church's pastor, the Rev. Henry Kelly, spoke about during his eulogy.He told Jamaya's family there was no need for blame, because her death wasn't the fault of any family member."You can be in the room with someone you love and death can come when you are sitting there talking to them," he said.After the service, Hattiesburg Public Schools Associate Superintendent Jimmy Hopkins said the pastor's sermon served as a message of hope."She was everything we hope to be - someone who makes a difference in the lives of others," he said.Jamaya's mother said she was saddened, but she tried to look on the bright side."I know she's in a better place," Knight said.
Jamaya was then laid to rest in a cemetery, where her mother was given a teddy bear and a plaque.Knight also received lots of condolences and hugs as people passed by her, her mother and her grandmother.Mary Knight, the great-grandmother whom Jamaya was visiting the day she died, was not surprised by the big turnout."I could see it in the spirit," Mary Knight said. "She was a little angel."
Jamaya's body was laid to rest in Reese Cemetery, where several generations of her father's family are buried. More than 350 mourners turned out for the funeral.
Thanks for the kindess of ~Mom of Angel Windy Cheryl Bright~for sponsoring Jamaya's memorial
By Natasha Smith
American Staff Writer
Lillie Burney Elementary School kindergartner Micah Baskin shared memories of 7-year-old Jamaya Griffith on Sunday, whom he described as his best friend and classmate.
"I'm going to love her forever," Micah told a congregation of more than 350 people who gathered at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church to celebrate Jamaya's life.
Jamaya looked peaceful, dressed in a white frilly frock topped with a pink rose during her funeral. Mourners, including representatives from the Jefferson Davis County Sheriff's Office, Hattiesburg Public Schools and The Salvation Army, stopped at the white casket lined in pink for one last look at a girl who touched two communities.
Sunday marked a day to remember and commemorate.
Faculty and staff from Lillie Burney Elementary School shared remembrances of the girl they described as "a ray of sunshine."Jamaya's kindergarten teacher, Carey Lilley, said Jamaya was a good student and that by losing Jamaya, she lost one of her own children."I've learned a lot about good and evil," Lilley said. "Jamaya represented all that was good."However, it was the remarks from fellow classmates that stirred the heart of Jamaya's mother, Regina Knight."It was beautiful, especially her classmates," Knight said. "I was very impressed with their courage."It was the courage of Knight and her family that the church's pastor, the Rev. Henry Kelly, spoke about during his eulogy.He told Jamaya's family there was no need for blame, because her death wasn't the fault of any family member."You can be in the room with someone you love and death can come when you are sitting there talking to them," he said.After the service, Hattiesburg Public Schools Associate Superintendent Jimmy Hopkins said the pastor's sermon served as a message of hope."She was everything we hope to be - someone who makes a difference in the lives of others," he said.Jamaya's mother said she was saddened, but she tried to look on the bright side."I know she's in a better place," Knight said.
Jamaya was then laid to rest in a cemetery, where her mother was given a teddy bear and a plaque.Knight also received lots of condolences and hugs as people passed by her, her mother and her grandmother.Mary Knight, the great-grandmother whom Jamaya was visiting the day she died, was not surprised by the big turnout."I could see it in the spirit," Mary Knight said. "She was a little angel."
Jamaya's body was laid to rest in Reese Cemetery, where several generations of her father's family are buried. More than 350 mourners turned out for the funeral.
