Community remembers Que. landslide victims
More than 600 mourners gathered in Saint-Jude, Que., on Saturday to pay their final respects to a local family killed in a landslide that swallowed their home.
Family friend Raoul Gera told the congregation the family — Richard Préfontaine, Lynne Charbonneau and their two daughters, Amélie, 12, and Anaïs, 9 — should be remembered for their love of life and the joy they took in each other's company.
"They spent precious moments together," he said.
"We need to promise ourselves, through this ordeal, to wish them a beautiful voyage, despite the direction that was chosen for them. Our only consolation is that they are all together."
The Préfontaines were killed May 10 when a huge chunk of land suddenly gave way, sweeping their family home along with it and leaving a crater as big as several football fields.
The next night, their bodies were removed from the basement, where it was thought the family had gathered to watch a Montreal Canadiens playoff game.
About two dozen people were temporarily forced from their homes in the village, about 75 kilometres east of Montreal, amid fears that other nearby homes could potentially collapse.
The sudden loss of the young family touched almost everyone in the village of 1,200.
"In a small town like ours, everyone knows one another," said Mayor Yves de Bellefeuille after the service. "So it's hard. Everyone is here and many of them helped out during the incident."
White bows were tied to streetlights and balcony railings and fluttered from tree branches in a message of strength and solidarity from the townspeople to the Préfontaine-Charbonneau family.
In the church, four golden urns stood near the altar, accompanied by photos of each family member, flowers, and brightly coloured messages from the youngest child's primary school classmates.
Following the ceremony, family members released four doves into the sky, while inside the church, Amélie's classmates sat tearfully together.
Dany Charbonneau, Lynne's nephew, said the community support gave him strength.
"Everyone entered the church, there wasn't enough place," he said. "Everyone was together just like it was their own home."
David Dorais, whose son knew the family, said the town's children were shaken by the tragedy but that things are slowly returning to normal.
"The children are beginning to go back their homework and studies," he said, adding the painful incident nonetheless brought out the best in the town's residents, who worked for hours during the rescue attempt and brought food for those helping at the site.
"There was a strong sense of community, a lot of help to given to each other," he said. "The community was very united. I think this funeral ends this event and we will go back to our normal life."