Thu, Nov 26 2009
|
|
Published May 15, 2008 08:31 pm - MIAMI, Okla. — Christi Patel’s eyes say it all. Saturated with tears, they reflect her nauseating grief. Patel lost her son and daughter-in-law in the tornado that struck Picher on Saturday. Their bodies were found on Mother’s Day. Mother recalls son, daughter-in-law killed in Picher tornado By Seth Putnam
news@joplinglobe.com MIAMI, Okla. — Christi Patel’s eyes say it all. Saturated with tears, they reflect her nauseating grief. Patel lost her son and daughter-in-law in the tornado that struck Picher on Saturday. Their bodies were found on Mother’s Day. Samuel Don Berry, 20, his wife, Tracie Dawn Berry, 19, and Tracie Berry’s uncle, Darrell Edward Patterson II, 28, were killed when they drove into the path of the EF4 tornado. The storm killed three others in Picher and was linked to another death attributed to carbon monoxide poisoning. “They were supposed to meet me for a Korean dinner on Saturday, but they didn’t show up,” Patel said. “The more I kept calling, the more I knew that my son was dead.” Tracie Berry’s sister, Kenna Garrison, was the only survivor of those in the vehicle. She turned up in a hospital, Patel said, but at first couldn’t remember what had happened. Gradually, she came around. “Kenna said that the next thing they knew, they were getting hit by hail, and the windows blew out,” Patel said. “Then they were spinning and spinning and spinning up off the road. She doesn’t remember anything else besides crawling in a field. They found two four-leaf clovers in her hair.” When Patel heard Garrison’s account, the reality of her son’s death hit home. “I knew I wasn’t going to get to talk to my best friend anymore,” she said. “I’m just so mixed up.” The Berrys left behind an 8-month-old son, Lucas Don Berry. “I want custody,” Patel said, “and (Tracie Berry’s parents) want custody. They need to see him just like I do, and I know they love him, but I need to have him with me.” Samuel Berry finished a program at the Wil Lou Gray Opportunity School, a junior military academy in Columbia, S.C., when he was 16. Afterward, he went to welding school in Tulsa. Shortly after the couple married, Samuel Berry enlisted in the Army. He served as a military policeman in Seoul, South Korea. Before Samuel Berry left on his first tour of duty, his wife got pregnant. After eight months of duty, he switched to the active reserves and returned home in March of this year to see his then 6-month-old son. “That’s why he came home,” Patel said. “He wanted to be with his child.” 
•
Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.
More from the Local News section
Canine ‘pawsengers’ take inaugural pet rescue flight Fourth Street scheduled to reopen Funeral for soldier killed in Afghanistan scheduled in Galena |
Print this story
E-mail this story
Post to del.icio.us
Discuss this story
Photographer documents struggle with cystic fibrosis w/ slide show and link to National Transplant Assistance Fund page
 |
 |
: Special Offer For New Subscribers
:
 |
|||||||
|
|||||||
 |
|
|
Published by Newspaper Holding, Inc. 117 East Fourth Street, Joplin, MO 64801 Using our site is your agreement to the terms and conditions. News: news@joplinglobe.com • (417)623-3480 Advertise with the Joplin Globe Copyright © 2006 The Joplin Globe, Joplin, MO All rights reserved. 
|
Popular Business directory links - Joplin Apartments | Joplin Attorneys | Joplin Auto Dealers | Joplin Auto Parts | Joplin Auto Repair | Joplin Beauty Salons | Joplin Car Rental | Joplin Dentists | Joplin Doctors | Joplin Flowers | Joplin Hotels | Joplin Insurance | Joplin Loans | Joplin Mortgages | Joplin Movers | Joplin Pizza | Joplin Realtors | Joplin Restaurants | Joplin Storage | Joplin Tax Preparation | Joplin Travel | Joplin Featured | More...
|
|
Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc. • CNHI Classified Advertising Network • CNHI News Service |
