06/07/07 - NNHS Newsletter - Jaylynn Dumas Barbara Jaylynn Dumas (6 May 2000 - 2 June 2007)

Dear Friends and Schoolmates,   

   We have such sad news today.

  From Me ('65) of NC - 06/03/07:

   This is by means of explanation.  I now have enough material to fill two or three Newsletters, but there may be another pause.

   Yesterday afternoon, a little girl from our local church congregation, a child who had just celebrated her seventh birthday on May 6, died in a drowning incident.  My time may or may not be my own as we prepare to help her family cope with this tragedy.....

  Y'all take care of each other.

From Brian Beachum ('72) of VA - 06/03/07:

Our prayers are with you and the family of the child. No need for prayers for the child, she's with God now. She might be the one answering some of our prayers.

Brian Beachum
NNHS Class of '72
Beachum Studios, Inc.

“If you enjoy what you do, you'll never work another day in your life.”
- Confucius

   Thank you, Brian.

  From Jean Poole Burton ('64) of RI - 06/03/07:

Dear Carol,

Don't worry about the newsletters.  My heart goes out to you.  In l986 our next door neighbor's 15 year old son was killed on December 26...the first time he had gone out in a car with friends.  It was just like one of our own family. 

Love and prayers, Jeanb

   Thank you, Jean.

  From My Niece, Shari, of VA - 06/03/07:

.....I called    Mom (Eleanor Buckley Nowitzky - '59 - of NC) tonight, after I saw your posting. How terribly sorry I am that the little girl drowned. How heartbreaking! We had a sweet little boy die, on the way to church (of all things), the day before Christmas in '95,  I think.. That was the ward we liked so much, in Pittsburgh. I cried sooo much. I had grown close to him, being in that Primary Presidency. He was so angelic looking and his family was such a kind group. The family was very close and he was the baby. He was 8, if my memory serves me well. I have thought about them often and wondered how they're doing.....
 

   Thank you, Shari.

From Patty Dunn of NC - 06/03/07:

..... Sorry to hear about the little girl at your church.  My prayers are with you.

http://www.geocities.com/silkyspunk/horseconsultingindex.html

   Thank you, Patty.

  From David Whitley ('67) of VA - 06/04/07:

..... I'm so sorry to hear about the death of the little 7 year old girl. I know if anyone can comfort the family, it will be you.

love, d

   Thank you, David.

  From Pam Larmer Traugott ('62) of VA - 06/04/07:

Carol:

Thank you for your news. It is a daunting task to be a friend/neighbor at times. Just your presence will make a difference. I am glad to know you.

Sincerely, Pam Larmer Traugott

   Thank you, Pam.

From Carol Anne Comer Cutler ('70) of VA - 06/04/07:

   Thank you, Carol Anne.

  From Elaine Wilkinson Bracken ('61) of VA - 06/05/07:

   Thank you, Elaine. I'll pass that on to them.

  From Joe Madagan ('57) of FL -  06/06/07:

Until    Elaine Wilkinson Bracken ('61) of VA shared her feelings and heart ache over the loss of your friend's child to drowning, I did not have the right words to express my feelings to you, because nothing strikes me harder than the loss of a child to drowning. I am sure you were able to love her during this grieving which will never end during this journey on earth.....

   Thank you, Sweet Joe. I did tell several members of Jaylynn's family how so very many people were praying for them at this most difficult of times.

From the Fayetteville Observer - 06/06/07:

       B. Jaylynn Dumas

   We extend our very deepest sympathies to the Dumas family at this tragic time.  Last night I "chanced" upon a quotation from one of the Apostles of our Church, which seems appropriate to share:

"If we are well prepared, death brings no terror. From an eternal perspective, death is premature only for those who are not prepared to meet God."

- Elder Russell M. Nelson, Ensign, May 2005, p. 18

   In the innocence of childhood, Jaylynn was as well prepared as she could have been.

  From My Friend, Anica Thomas Penrod (Pine Forest High, Fayetteville, NC - '99) of NC - 06/07/07 - "Child’s compassion shows value of friendship":

http://www.fayobserver.com/article?id=264302:

Child’s compassion shows value of friendship

- Rodger Mullen

SPRING LAKE — Shania Shinn’s favorite subject is math. She needed her counting skills to keep track of her fundraising efforts for a fallen classmate. Shania, 6, a first-grader at Manchester Elementary School, collected $357 in one day for the family of her friend, Barbara Jay Lynn Dumas, who drowned Saturday. The quiet girl who wears her red hair in pigtails, her mother and a friend solicited businesses up and down N.C. 210 for the money. “I went out to the stores and I asked them if they could help,” Shania said. “Some people said they didn’t have any money, and some people gave me some dollars and some change.”
		Manchester Elementary first-grader Shania Shinn, 6, collected $357 for the family of her friend who drowned.	Shania Shinn’s collection jar.
		Staff photos by Marc Hall

Barbara, 7, was playing with friends in a pond at the Lakehurst condominiums when she drowned.

An Army mechanic who lives at Lakehurst pulled the girl from the water, but she was pronounced dead at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center.

Shania was a kindergarten classmate of Barbara’s at Mae Rudd Williams Elementary School. The two were in the first grade together at Manchester.

“She had blonde hair and blue eyes and she was kind of tan,” Shania said. “She was nice. She was happy.”

Shania said she found out about Barbara’s death when the school called her family’s home. “We looked on the computer and saw what happened,” she said.

Immediately, Shania wanted to do something to help.

Enlisting her mother, Caroline Ross, and a friend, Brittany Colville, Shania began asking Spring Lake businesses to donate money.

“I told them there was a little girl at my school, she’s 7 years old and she was playing in the water,” Shania said. “One of them drowned and when they took her to the hospital, it was too late, one of them died.”

The three went to Wal-Mart, Blockbuster Video, Dollar Tree, Game Stop and other businesses. Some people gave as much as $20, while others gave whatever change they had in their pockets.

Ross said her daughter’s eagerness to help didn’t surprise her.

“You wouldn’t think such a little girl would be concerned with such issues, but she was,” Ross said. “She’s always been a caring, nice little girl.

“I was proud of her. We’ve always tried to instill the values that if you can help somebody, you should help them.”

After a few hours of work Monday, Shania collected $357. “I thought it would be enough to let them get her buried and stuff,” she said.

The money was collected in a glass jar with the words, “For the family of Barbara Dumas. God bless,” written on the lid.

Norma Dupe, a counselor at Manchester, said she saw the jar of money when Shania and her mother brought it to the school office Tuesday.

“When I first looked at it, I thought, this child has cleaned out her piggy bank. What a great gift,” Dupe said. “I was surprised how it came to be.

“I assured (Shania) I would get it to the family and how grateful they would be.”

Barbara’s brother, 18-year-old Michael Peeples, said the family was touched by Shania’s gesture.

“I thought it was very inspirational that someone would care about us this much,” Peeples said. “I never would have thought we had so much support and that my little sister had so many friends.”

Barbara’s father, Brent Dumas, said the family has received other donations, as well as hundreds of sympathy cards.

Dumas said a candlelight ceremony for his daughter will be held at 8:30 tonight at the Lakehurst pond.

“The community has been so wonderful,” Dumas said. “The love in this house now is so unreal. It’s beautiful.’’

Manchester Elementary Principal Al Miller said Monday was a tough day for students.

A crisis team from the county school system was available to help students deal with the tragedy.

“The thing was to let them know and help them get back on track,” he said.

Miller said the school’s staff was amazed at Shania’s efforts.

“She’s always been a sweet little girl, but when she brought in this jar, we were just dumbfounded,” he said.
Columnist Rodger Mullen can be reached at mullenr@fayobserver.com or 486-3561.

   Thank you, Anica.

    From Jay Styles ('68) of VA - 06/09/07:

   Thank you, Jay Sweetie.

  Y'all take good care of each other!  TYPHOONS FOREVER!

                          Love to all, Carol

==============================================

NNHS CLASS OF '65 WEB SITE: http://www.nnhs65.00freehost.com

PERSONAL WEB SITE: http://www.angelfire.com/weird2/cluckmeat

==============================================

Carol Buckley Harty
219 Four Ply Lane
Fayetteville, NC 29311-9305
910-488-9408

I Am a Child of God
(© 1957 LDS)

Words by Naomi Ward Randall
(5 Oct 1908 - 17 May 2001);

Music by Mildred T. Pettit
(1895 - 1977)

I am a child of God, And he has sent me here.
Has given me an earthly home With parents kind and dear.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday.

I am a child of God, And so my needs are great;
Help me to understand his words Before it grows too late.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, Help me find the way. 
Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday.

I am a child of God. Rich blessings are in store;
If I but learn to do his will I'll live with him once more.
Lead me, guide me, walk beside me, Help me find the way.
Teach me all that I must do To live with him someday.

"I Am a Child of God" midi courtesy of http://people.uleth.ca/~anderson/csb/csb002.mid, sequenced by Doran Anderson - 08/08/03

"I Am a Child of God" lyrics courtesy of http://people.uleth.ca/~anderson/hymns/301.htm - 08/08/03

Blackwork Flowers Divider Line clip art courtesy of http://www.bravenet.com - 08/12/04

Greg Olsen Paintings courtesy of http://gregolsengallery.com – 03/15/05

Army Seal clip art courtesy of Al Farber ('64) of GA - 05/24/06
Thanks, Al!

Marine Corps Seal clip art courtesy of Herbert Hice of MI - one of my Famous Marines who served in the South Pacific during WWII.
Thanks, Herbie!

Back to NNHS Newsletters - 2006

Back to NNHS Newsletters - 2007

Return to NNHS Class of 1965