By Dorothy Rowley
AFRO Staff Writer
Family members of LaVonda King mourn her passing at a capacity crowd funeral. (Photo by Khalid Naji-Allah)
|
CAPITOL HEIGHTS, Md. (June 30, 2009) -- More than 500 family and friends gathered Tuesday at Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Capitol Heights, Md., to pay their final respects to LaVonda Nicole “Nikki” King.
The 23-year-old mother of two boys ages 3 and 2, was among nine people who died on June 22 after a Metro rail train crashed into one ahead of it.
The horrific incident occurred in the District of Columbia during the height of the evening rush hour and has been described by rail officials as the worst in the system’s 33-year history.
Asking the attendees at the lengthy service to remember King as a person who exhibited an “I can” attitude, the Rev. Dr. Michael Turner Sr. said they should also refrain from looking upon her funeral as sad occasion.
“As sad as it is, it is a happy day,” said Rev. Turner. “She has no more concerns on this side of the river.”
Turner who delivered a sometimes fiery, yet consistently uplifting eulogy, said there’s no error in God and that as He “take[s] care of Nikki,” her two young sons would likewise be in heaven’s care.
As King’s body rested at the center of the huge sanctuary inside her white casket with gold trimming, the crowd — filled with a large mix of young and older people — listened attentively as Turner implored them to put aside whatever was weighing down their own lives and accept embrace Christ instead.
“Some of us are holding on to the wrong stuff,” Turner said. “But just let it go . . . or it’ll interfere with your transformation of getting from here to [heaven].” He said King had done just that back in January 2001 when she was baptized at Faith Missionary. “She already knew the Lord Jesus for herself . . . and her passing has been a reminder to us all of our own mortality and finality.”
At the time of her passing, King had just passed her examination to become a licensed cosmetologist, and was poised to operate her own hair salon.
Turner said in the moments preceding her untimely death riding up front on Metro train 112, King’s last thoughts had probably been on her children and the cell phone conversation she’d just had with her mother as she boarded the train.
“She didn’t like sitting in the back, but sat in the car up front [on the train as she traveled from work to pick up her children],” said Turner. “She left home on Monday and didn’t come back… our plans are not God’s plans.”
However, he added, on her journey, “[Nikki] moved from car 1079 to the train that took her from earth to glory.”
Among the outpouring of mourners were students who attended cosmetology classes with King at the Hair Academy in New Carrollton, Md.
Tierra Miles, 18, said she will remember her friend as a nice person. “Whenever, she’d come into the building she’d just smile and smile,” Miles said. “In her own way, she was so special.”
Karshenia Brooks,22, nodded agreement. “She was a beautiful, spirited person,” Brooks recalled. “In my last memory of her, we were in the back of the academy doing hair together and just laughing and joking. I will miss that.”
See more images from the LaVonda King funeral at AFRO Photography.
Share |