Child, 6, parents laid to rest after Claxton Bay car crash

THERE were tears of sorrow, gusts of laughter and shouts of affirmation as people remembered Steve, Kizzy and six-year-old Janea Elder at their joint funeral at the Mt D’Or Seventh Day Adventist Church, San Juan on June 11.

The three died when Steve Elder, 40, lost control of the vehicle they were in shortly before midnight on May 31. The car flipped over after it ran off the Solomon Hochoy Highway in Claxton Bay and Elder and his family died at the scene, along with passenger Kathlyn Wright. An unidentified male passenger sustained serious injuries.

Elder’s first cousin Sheryl-Ann Chan shared memories of growing up with him in San Fernando, where he was raised by his grandmother. She said although his mother died when he was young, his grandmother and his aunts showed him the love of a mother.

“Devon (as we called him to distinguish him from his father Steve) was a happy, well-adjusted, adaptable, contented and well-mannered child. He was a go-getter with a positive attitude towards life and people.”

She also read a tribute from Elder’s cousin Darcelle, who grew up with Elder in San Fernando.

“Devon was smart, calm, he helped me with my schoolwork and always made me feel I had someone to lean on. Although I was the only girl among three boys, Devon never let me feel left out. He always made space for you.

“He never complained. No matter what was going on, he stayed steady and was there for those he loved.”

She said when Elder was a teenager, he was hot-headed but knew how to work hard. She said he would tell jokes all the time. She said when he finished high school, he didn’t want to go further with his education and his father, realizing he had an aptitude for mechanics, apprenticed him to the local mechanic.

She said after working there for a number of years, he moved to Princes Town, but made sure to keep in touch with his family.

“Family was always the centre focus of his life. He loved his family dearly and would call everyone and check on them on a regular basis. He was a caring individual. When he worked his night shifts, he would call his family members just to chat and check up on them. He made sure to take the time to keep in touch and keep the family close to him.”

Chan said Kizzy was the only girlfriend she knew Elder to have and the only one he brought home to meet his family.

“I was glad he found someone he loved. At the wedding he kept telling jokes and she was laughing at everything he said, every time he opened his mouth. He appreciated her and she appreciated him.”

Petra Moore, Kizzy’s sister, said the family was clinging to each other, to memory and to faith to get through the grief they were feeling.

“Kizzy was just 41. She had so much life to live. She had dreams, plans, and so much love to give. But even in those short years, she lived in a way that left a mark. Kizzy was brave in the face of hardship, but she had deep faith in God and that faith was her anchor through her many woes.

“Even in pain, she somehow found laughter. Her sense of humour, her quick wit and the way she lit up a room with her joy is something we will never forget. She brought light wherever she went.”

Moore said Kizzy’s surviving son, Jaden, born in 2008, was her heart walking outside her body and her anchor in trouble. She said Kizzy married Elder in 2014 and they had their miracle baby, Janea, in 2019.

“Janea was not just a child, she was an answer to prayer. After enduring challenges and miscarriages, Kizzy often spoke of God had smiled at her when He gave her Janea. Janea was soft-spoken, gentle and full of life. She had an energy that filled the room without needing to say a word.”

She broke down as she continued, leaning on Jaden’s shoulder, and said the bond between mother and daughter was like no other.

“We could see it in the way Kizzy looked at her, the way Janea would quietly hold her mother’s hand, the way Kizzy’s eyes would soften when she spoke of her daughter’s name. They belonged to each other and now the only comfort we can hold is that they are still together.”

Moore said Kizzy worked at TTEC for over ten years, before leaving to join Team Legacy. Many of her co-workers from both places were present and laughed and cried as Moore spoke of Kizzy's time there.

Chan told Jaden the family was there for him and it was OK for him to cry when he thought of his parents and his sister.