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A Work of Mercy
By Lou Baldwin
Special to the CS&T
Five white burial caskets rested in a solemn row before
the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament
Church in Philadelphia on Feb. 16.
The center casket held the remains of Cornellry Laura
“Candy” Robinson, 25. In smaller caskets on either side
rested her children, Jassiah Joseph, 1, and Mikal Enrico,
3. Flanking them were the caskets of Kristian Xavier, 4,
and Alyssa Cierra, 6.
Robinson and her children died in a fire in the early
morning hours of Feb. 11, in a partly-boarded-up,
presumed vacant house at 59th and Walnut streets. It was
a bitter cold night, and space heaters were connected to
power strips and extension cords leading to an illegal
hookup to the Philadelphia Electric Company line.
There were no smoke detectors. It was almost a certain
recipe for disaster.
Horrified firefighters found the young children huddled
in bed with their mother, who had tried to protect them
in death just as she had tried to do, in her own
fashion, in life. One of the little ones still held her
tiny, lifeless hands against her face, in what had been
a futile attempt to shield herself from harm.
Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament’s pastor, Capuchin
Father Paul Kuppe, who said the funeral service, never
met Robinson or her children in life. Neither had Bishop
Robert P. Maginnis, who gave the final blessing,
representing Cardinal Rigali.
As a child, herself, Robinson well knew the beautiful
old church. Until 2005, before parish consolidation, the
church was known as Our Lady of the Rosary, and it was
there she was baptized as an infant.
She attended the parish school from kindergarten through
eighth grade and then moved on to Mercy Vocational
School, where she studied cosmetology, the skill she
practiced for most of her short adult life.
“She was a respectful, courteous, wonderful girl who
always took pride in [her] appearance and who she was,”
recalled Sister of Mercy Barbara Hoffman, who was
Robinson’s guidance counselor at Mercy Vocational, which
she left shortly before her scheduled 2001 graduation
date.
No one, not her grieving extended family nor several
hundred mourners in the church, knew why this pretty,
spirited young woman, along with the children’s father,
Mikal Johnson, made the fatal mistake of taking the
children into the tumble-down house, a mistake that cost
them their lives.
No one knew why, in her obvious need, she didn’t turn to
her relatives, her friends, or to the social service
system.
No one knew why, in this nation of wealth any family
could be allowed to suffer in such a way.
Never in his life had Father Kuppe presided over the
funeral of five people, let alone a mother and four
children. Make that five. Robinson was carrying within
her another baby whose life was snuffed out with her
own.
“It is a catastrophe,” he conceded in his homily. “There
is nothing that can be said, and nothing that can be
done.”
Beyond that, he based his homily on the comforting
Gospel of the service, the raising of Lazarus from the
dead. He said everyone, including Robinson and her poor
children, can expect eternal life through Jesus, no
matter the circumstances of their death.
There were no charges or expectations of payment for the
use of Father Kuppe’s church, and the five caskets were
provided by Final Farewell, a small, local foundation
that assists families that have lost a child. The
Garriest Crawley Funeral Home discounted its service
rates, and its fee was covered by the American Red
Cross.
After the service at Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament,
a line of hearses carried the caskets of Robinson and
her children to Cathedral Cemetery on Lancaster Avenue.
There a burial plot, provided without cost, received
them. Philadelphia’s oldest active diocesan cemetery,
“Old Cathedral,” as it is generally known, still has a
few interments every year.
Many people might be surprised to learn that out of
7,800 burials in the archdiocesan cemeteries last year,
211 were provided free of charge. “We do this in time of
need, and the numbers seem to be increasing,” said
Robert Whomsley, director of the Catholic Cemeteries
Office. He considers providing the plots to families in
need as part of the mission of the church.
“This was one of the more tragic cases we’ve seen,”
Whomsley said.
Generally, requests for burial assistance for needy
families come through the recommendation of a priest,
Whomsley said.
For Robinson’s family, the request came through Msgr.
James King, a former Christian Brother who is now a
Maronite priest living in retirement in Lansdowne. Msgr.
King still serves. as a military chaplain for the
Veterans Administration.
“My niece is a funeral director, and she asked me if I
could write a letter for assistance for the family,”
Msgr. King said.
His niece, Patricia Quinn of Olney, is a licensed
funeral director and the wife of Thomas Quinn, a
third-generation member of the Givnish family, which
operates several area funeral homes.
Aware how difficult it can be for families to cope with
the unanticipated costs of a funeral at the time of the
death of a child, Quinn joined a group of like-minded
people to found Final Farewell last year. When she heard
about the death of Cornellry Robinson and her children
on the news, she contacted the Philadelphia Medical
Examiner’ Office to offer assistance.
Quinn said she chose to supply caskets because they are
the greatest single expense connected with a funeral. As
a funeral director, she obtained them at the dealers’
price. The total cost for the five caskets was just
under $2,400, she said — far below retail cost.
Working with very limited funds, last year Final
Farewell helped bury 10 children. This year’s total is
already eight. Ordinarily, the organization does not
provide assistance for adults but Robinson was an
exception because she was pregnant with another child.
“It is so sad to see five caskets,” Quinn said. “It is
sickening.”
Although her foundation helps families of all
denominations, Quinn sought archdiocesan assistance
because Robinson was a Catholic, and she believed they
should be afforded a Catholic funeral. The Catholic
Cemeteries Office was in prompt agreement.
The death of Robinson and her children reflects
unqualified societal failure. The dignity of their
funeral and burial helped soften the blow to their
grieving family. It was a combined effort from Our Lady
of the Blessed Sacrament Church, the archdiocesan
Catholic Cemeteries Office, the American Red Cross, and
Final Farewell. That is as it should be — to bury the
dead, after all, is a corporal work of mercy.
Most fire deaths are preventable. Smoke detectors save
lives. For free smoke detectors go to any Philadelphia
Fire House.
For further information on archdiocesan Catholic
Cemeteries call 215-895-3450
To learn more about Final Farewell see
www.finalfarewell.org.
Lou Baldwin is a member of St. Leo Parish and a
freelance writer.
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