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Known as a “caretaker” by her family and friends, Betty Smalls died doing what she loved to do most - taking care of her grandchildren. • Smalls, 57, her grandson Jahiem Eubanks, 5, who was born in Sumter, (South Carolina) and her granddaughter Jaden Scott, 2, died in a New Year’s Eve fire in Columbia, (South Carolina). The blaze had engulfed the family’s duplex at 11 Canal Court, home of Smalls’ daughter, Donee Smalls, Eubanks and Scott, when firefighters arrived on the scene. • Donee Smalls, a member of the 751st Maintenance Battalion at McEntire Joint National Guard Base, and her oldest child, Jaquan Weathers, 8, were not home when the fire occurred. • “My mother gave her life trying to save her grandchildren,” Dominique Smalls, Donee’s sister, said Wednesday from Columbia. “Im so proud of my mother. If I could only be one-twelfth as good of a mother as she’s been, I’d be happy. She had the kind of grace that I want to have. Her shoes will be hard to full.” • Dominique Smalls, 36, who arrived in Columbia on New Years’s Day from her home in Maybrook, N.Y., to be with her family, said other family members also came down to be with the family. • “(Betty Small’s) twin sister, Madeline Hall, is here now to help us,” she said. “She’s our second mom and it’s a very hard time for her being the twin.” • Dominique Smalls remembered her mother’s “great smile.” • “She always kept you laughing,” she said. “She was a caretaker. She was always feeding you. She wanted to know if you were all right. She loved kids and she loved her grandkids. She just loved life.” • Dominique Smalls described her family as a “tight-knit group.” • “We’re helping each other deal with this,” she said. “God has given me the grace to keep going and to be strong.” • “They were wonderful,” Smalls said of her niece and nephew. “Jahiem was such a sweetie. He just started kindergarten this year and he loved school.” • Eubanks was the “average little boy,” she said. • “He loved to ride his bike. He was rough and tumble. He was a great kid.” • While Jahiem was tough, Jaden was the little lady, Smalls said. • “She was a real show stopper and a ball of energy,” she said. “She had these big, pretty eyes that showed the world what she was thinking. She liked to dress up and talk on the phone. If the phone rang, Jaden was there saying, ‘Hello.’” • Losing three family members has been devastating for Jaquan, his aunt said. • “He’s taking it one minuate at the time,” she said. I’m asking people to pray for him. He’s trying so hard to understand what happened but it’s so hard on him right now.” • Support from the Sumter and Columbia areas has been phenomenal, the children’s aunt said • “The calls, the cards, the outpouring of love has been incredible,” she said. “It’s helped us get through this terribly tough time. I just want to thank everyone. I want to meet them individually and thank them for what they’ve done for my family.” • Smalls said she hopes to be able to put a face with the calls and cards at today’s wake from 6 to 7 p.m. at Williams Funeral Home. • “I know there will be a lot of people there, but I want them to know how much I appreciate what they’ve done,” she said. “Without them, this would have been much more difficult.” • She said the funerals for all three will be held at noon Saturday at Joshua Baptist Church in Dalzell (South Carolina). She has a list of other relatives but I don’t know where they go. jkh [2] |
1949 - 2006 (57 years)
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