"At Holyrood, buried in Section G, is the Landers Family. They were a family of six kids and two parents who died in a fire on Vashon Island in 1963. They had just moved to Washington from Illinois the previous year. He was a grocer in a local store, she was a stay at home mom. One of the girls was just a few days shy of her first communion.
The father was working on the heater in the home and the mother just happened to be behind him when it exploded. It threw her out of the home, where she was able to crawl to the family car and honk the horn until help came. Once help got there, she said, "its just too late" as her whole home, kids and husband inside, burned to the ground.
She was taken to Harborview Burn Unit. She stayed alive until her brothers (who came from Illinois) came and told her that the rest of the family had been buried in Catholic Burial Ground. She died shortly after the message. They had closed the kids' graves, but left the fathers open so she could be placed on top (they were all double interments). She was buried two days after the rest of her family. I believe the youngest was less than a year old, both parents were younger than 40."
Bio by Susan Welcher
Married:
Elinor
Children:
Kathleen
Michael
Theresa
Patricia
Beverly
William
Burial Date June 15, 1963
The father was working on the heater in the home and the mother just happened to be behind him when it exploded. It threw her out of the home, where she was able to crawl to the family car and honk the horn until help came. Once help got there, she said, "its just too late" as her whole home, kids and husband inside, burned to the ground.
She was taken to Harborview Burn Unit. She stayed alive until her brothers (who came from Illinois) came and told her that the rest of the family had been buried in Catholic Burial Ground. She died shortly after the message. They had closed the kids' graves, but left the fathers open so she could be placed on top (they were all double interments). She was buried two days after the rest of her family. I believe the youngest was less than a year old, both parents were younger than 40."
Bio by Susan Welcher
Married:
Elinor
Children:
Kathleen
Michael
Theresa
Patricia
Beverly
William
Burial Date June 15, 1963
"At Holyrood, buried in Section G, is the Landers Family. They were a family of six kids and two parents who died in a fire on Vashon Island in 1963. They had just moved to Washington from Illinois the previous year. He was a grocer in a local store, she was a stay at home mom. One of the girls was just a few days shy of her first communion.
The father was working on the heater in the home and the mother just happened to be behind him when it exploded. It threw her out of the home, where she was able to crawl to the family car and honk the horn until help came. Once help got there, she said, "its just too late" as her whole home, kids and husband inside, burned to the ground.
She was taken to Harborview Burn Unit. She stayed alive until her brothers (who came from Illinois) came and told her that the rest of the family had been buried in Catholic Burial Ground. She died shortly after the message. They had closed the kids' graves, but left the fathers open so she could be placed on top (they were all double interments). She was buried two days after the rest of her family. I believe the youngest was less than a year old, both parents were younger than 40."
Bio by Susan Welcher
Married:
Elinor
Children:
Kathleen
Michael
Theresa
Patricia
Beverly
William
Burial Date June 15, 1963
The father was working on the heater in the home and the mother just happened to be behind him when it exploded. It threw her out of the home, where she was able to crawl to the family car and honk the horn until help came. Once help got there, she said, "its just too late" as her whole home, kids and husband inside, burned to the ground.
She was taken to Harborview Burn Unit. She stayed alive until her brothers (who came from Illinois) came and told her that the rest of the family had been buried in Catholic Burial Ground. She died shortly after the message. They had closed the kids' graves, but left the fathers open so she could be placed on top (they were all double interments). She was buried two days after the rest of her family. I believe the youngest was less than a year old, both parents were younger than 40."
Bio by Susan Welcher
Married:
Elinor
Children:
Kathleen
Michael
Theresa
Patricia
Beverly
William
Burial Date June 15, 1963
