‘Meaningful, beautiful and significant’: Community honors victims of Jeannette fire at memorial service

Dozens of people shuffled past bright floral arrangements and poster boards adorned with family photos at Word of Life Church in Hempfield Friday.

Couples squeezed each other’s hands, and parents held their children tightly next to them as they waited to share condolences and hugs with members of the Miranda John and Tyler King family.

John graciously received each one.

The memorial service honored four of John’s children — Kyson John, 7; Kinzleigh John, 6; Keagan John, 3; and Korbyn John, 1 month — who were killed in a fire March 20 that destroyed their Guy Street home. The children’s father and Miranda’s fiancé, Tyler J. King, 27, also died in the blaze.

John and two of her other children — Kaiden, 10, and Kash, 1 — were the only ones to survive.

Only a handful of pews were left unfilled at the public memorial service, filled nearly end to end with family, friends, neighbors and fellow Jeannette residents who came out to honor the family.

The sounds of weeping and sniffling filled the room as Kenneth King, Tyler’s twin brother, shared memories of his sibling, nieces and nephews.

Kenneth “Kenny” King shared the nicknames he and his brother had for the children. Kyson was the triceratops, Kinzleigh was the turkey and Keagan was the Galapagos tortoise, he said.

Kyson loved dinosaurs, Minecraft and going to Idlewild, Kenny said.

“He had many pickup lines,” Kenny said with a laugh.

Kenny recalled building Legos with Kinzleigh and watching her perform with her cheerleading team. He called Keagan his buddy, who would run up to Kenny as soon as he walked in the door.

Korbyn completed the family, he said.

“She was just only one month old,” he said, “but I’m sure she would have been a world of joy, just as much as each and every one of them.”

Kenny spoke through tears as he talked about playing in the woods, walking along the train tracks and riding quads with his brother.

“During our teenage years, we’d walk around everywhere in town,” he said. “We’d always walk, no matter where we’d go, just to hang out with our friends.”

His favorite memories of his twin come from time spent with the children.

“His kids and everyone around him was his world. He put a smile on everyone’s face,” Kenny said. “I love you so much, Tyler. You will always be my A1, day one, best friend, hero and my big brother.”

Delena Lewis, Tyler and Kenny’s mother, took to the microphone next. But as she was about to read the names of her grandchildren, she paused, stepped away and embraced a family member as she wept.

Kenny read the statement his mother prepared, touching upon Tyler’s love of building Legos, playing video games and spending time with his family.

“As Tyler came into adulthood and became a father, I could not have been more proud of him,” the statement read.

Kyson called Lewis and her husband the “pizza grandparents,” she said in the statement, because they often ordered pizza during family visits.

“Kinzleigh loved telling on her pappy so she could hear me tell him he was in trouble, and she would let out this cute little giggle,” the statement read, eliciting lighthearted laughs from the audience. “Keagan was Tyler’s little sidekick. He would even take Tyler’s phone from him and run through the house.”

Lewis could not wait to see the young lady Korbyn would become, the statement said.

Pastor Michael Jung said when he heard about the fire, he called a friend right away.

“Please don’t hold it in,” said Jung, of the Salvation Army Jeannette Corps. “Talk to somebody. Share with somebody. Cry together.”

Before visiting Miranda, Kash and Kaiden in the hospital after the fire, Pastor Nate Keisel parked his car and cried.

“I felt like I’d been kicked in the gut, and I know many of you have said the same thing over the past couple of weeks,” Keisel said. “I couldn’t imagine the feeling of what they were facing.”

Drawing from scripture passages, Keisel, of Mosaic Community Church in Jeannette, reminded attendees it is OK to grieve.

“Tyler uniquely imaged God in a way that no other human being has or will. His life was significant and had immense meaningfulness. Kyson — Kyson with his intense love for others and care, his life was meaningful, beautiful and significant.

“Kinzleigh with all of her sassiness and cuteness — her life was meaningful and it was significant and it was beautiful,” Keisel said. “Keagan, Korbyn — no matter how short their lives — their lives were meaningful, beautiful and significant. So it is appropriate, it is good to mourn and grieve their loss.”

A private burial and reception were held after the service. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.