Zakia Davis and Daughter Ashanti Were Simply Unforgettable
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Elkville apartment fire victims Zakia Davis, 6-year-old daughter Ashanti and surviving 8-year-old daughter Shayla--all inseparable--this morning were remembered by Dan McKinnies of the United Pentecostal Church as genuine.
What you see is what you get.
They came with a smile and a laugh that were part of their heart. To say they were "unforgettable" isn't a condescending thought for lack of something better to say during a funeral visitation. Their smiles were not cliches.
They shared a huge faith. "Our daily bread" from the Lord's Prayer sustained them. They did more with their daily bread than most.
All they needed from us as a community were a couple of $16 smoke detectors--installed--and somehow we let them down.
The love people had for Zakia and Ashanti was validated by a candlelight vigil held at Helia Healthcare in Carbondale. In two hour's time, friends and employees had raised over $2,000 for a memorial fund now fully established and growing at the Du Quoin State Bank. Their love for her was so strong that she was probably the only CNA that could get away with kicking off her shoes at the beginning of a shift and walking down the hall in her stocking feet to check on a patient.
She did the same thing at her beloved United Pentecostal Church as weekly church services began. She hated shoes.
Her beauty--and her legacy--is in the unity she has brought to a family which has grown in its faith since last week's unspeakable tragedy.
The dozens of floral arrangements at the church today bearing crosses and stuffed animals were testament as to how much they were loved.
Rev. Dan McKinnies' message borrowed from rapper M.C. Hammer's song "You Can't Touch This."
"The fire and the tragedy took a lot of things--and two people who were loved--but you can't take the memories," said McKinnies. You "can't touch this."
Even the Lord would have to say that Zakia and Ashanti rocked.
McKinnies knew Zakia and Ashanti well. He said before the service "Zakia was fighting the odds and they were winning. Zakia had this super natural smile."
McKinnies said he loved watching their playfulness in church. "Ashanti liked to sing and do a little dance," he remembers. "She made you notice her." As a parent in church, you shake your finger, but you still love to watch 'em dance. "It's the truth with those two."
Everyone in the church loved it. They assembled a beautiful book of pictures and notes that was given to Shayla. She was also to be given Ashanti's girl scout uniform.
For Mother's Day 2008, Shayla said of her mother, "My favorite thing about my mom is she makes me happy. I know she loves me because I love her too. She taught me to do my homework. May mom makes me laugh when she makes funny jokes. Love, Shayla."
In fact, McKinnies said an education for her children was all-important to Zakia. In fact, it had always been an important part of the Whitfield family gene pool.
Sara Sizemore wrote: "How do we say goodbye to such beautiful inspirations in our lives. How will we ever fill the void that only Zakia and Ashanti knew how to fill. It is our memories of them both, how they touched our lives, and what they meant to us that will carry us through this time."
Ashanti's teachers from the Du Quoin Elementary School were invited to a 7:30 a.m. visitation at the church before the start of classes.
The funeral began with a memorial DVD assembled by family members and the song "Memories of Us" by Keith Urban. A recording of "Jesus Loves Me" by the children's choir was played as were the songs "Address Change Notification" and the inspiring "I Can Only Imagine."
Friend Ashley writes to Shayla: "I am so sorry for your loss. Zakia and Ashanti both had beautiful smiles and spirits. Kia's heart was one of the most beautiful hearts I've ever met. She was a good mom and passed that heart on to her kids. We will all miss them very much."
Pyatt Funeral Home and the church were in charge of a very thoughtful day of services that ended with interment in the IOOF Cemetery.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined. What is know is that Zakia's purse was found intact after the fire and on top of her belonging in that purse were passages from the Bible. A Bible lay on a table in the apartment--largely undamaged.
At the end of this day--and it's a tough day--McKinnies reminds us of Romans 8 that "Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ." He adds, "It's incredible the way this family has come together. I am very proud of them."