Abstract:
"They were loving, vivacious little girls who shared everything and
loved each other. They were like twins. I just can't believe they're
gone," a grieving Cindy Germain said of her granddaughters, Violet
Carey, 5 1/2, and Iris, 4.
The family has set up a memorial fund. Donations can be sent to the Violet
and Iris Carey Memorial Fund, c/o Fleet Bank, 209 East Main St., Milford,
01757.
LITTLE ANGELS: Iris Carey, 4, and her sister, Violet, 5, were killed in
their sleep when their Hopkinton home was flattened in an apparent gas
explosion early yesterday morning.
| Full Text: |
| Copyright Boston Herald Library Jul
25, 2002 |
HOPKINTON - They were two "lovable" sisters who
did "everything together" - from playing with Barbie dolls to
digging in sand at the beach to swimming in their grandparents' pool.
And tragically yesterday, as they slept side-by-side, the
sisters died together in an apparent gas explosion that flattened their
Hopkinton home.
"They were loving, vivacious little girls who shared
everything and loved each other. They were like twins. I just can't believe
they're gone," a grieving Cindy Germain said of her granddaughters,
Violet Carey, 5 1/2, and Iris, 4.
The girls were asleep on a futon by their parents' bed
about 1:40 a.m. when the four-family home exploded, burying them alive under
rubble. Their parents, Tara and Heath Carey, got out of the wreckage
unharmed.
While pinned under the suffocating debris, 27-year-old
Tara Carey heard the muffled cries of Violet, who said she couldn't breathe.
"Their parents are absolutely devastated. The girls
were their only children and they were the greatest parents. Those girls
loved their parents," Germain, 56, said through tears.
Relatives took some comfort in believing that the girls
are now together in heaven.
"I'm glad they're together because they were so
close. They were always together," said their grandfather, Paul Germain.
Just last month, Violet wore a tassled cap and accepted
her graduation "diploma" from the Hopkinton YMCA's
pre-kindergarten program, which her younger sister planned to attend this
fall.
"We have those pictures . . . we were just showing
the priest," said Cindy Germain.
Violet, who was often heard saying she "loved her
baby sister," was to start kindergarten in September. The night before
the blast, the girls flipped through back-to-school catalogs with their
mother.
"Violet was very bubbly and friendly with all the
children in the class," said Marci Guckeyson, associate executive
director of the Hopkinton YMCA.
"Both girls were very happy children who came from a
very caring family. We're all very saddened and our thoughts and prayers are
with the family," Guckeyson said.
Their paternal grandfather, Michael Carey of New
Hampshire, said Violet reminded him of child actress Shirley Temple.
"I used to come down and take walks (with them) in
the back yard, at the pond out back. She called me `Pappy,' " he said.
Heath Carey, a New Hampshire native, and Tara Carey, who
grew up in Milford, where her parents still live, met at a college party and
married six years ago.
They moved to the second-floor apartment on Main Street
three years ago. The couple, owners of Freak and Frolic, an underground
Milford clothing store, wanted to move into a nicer place once their new
business got going, relatives said.
"They were establishing their business and thinking
of moving," said Cindy Germain.
Germain said gas company workers were at the Hopkinton
house recently because there was no hot water and they replaced gas meters.
An NSTAR official said there was no record of work being done at the house
in the past few months. Leonard Pearson, who owns the multi-family home,
declined comment.
Yesterday, grieving relatives gathered in Milford at the
maternal grandparents' home.
Named after their mother's favorite flowers, Violet and
Iris were affectionately called "the flower garden."
Cindy Germain said the girls loved to bake cookies and
cupcakes with her and their favorite restaurant was Applebee's. Whenever
anyone snapped a picture of them, many of which were destroyed in the blast,
the sisters snuggled close together.
"They really were the most caring, loving girls.
They just cared about everybody," Cindy Germain said.
The family has set up a memorial fund. Donations can be
sent to the Violet and Iris Carey Memorial Fund, c/o Fleet Bank, 209 East
Main St., Milford, 01757.
Caption: LITTLE ANGELS: Iris Carey, 4, and her sister,
Violet, 5, were killed in their sleep when their Hopkinton home was
flattened in an apparent gas explosion early yesterday morning.
Caption: EXPLOSION SCENE: Firefighters and rescue workers
gather at the site of an apparent gas explosion in Hopkinton that flattened
a three-story apartment building and killed two young girls. Staff photo by
Jon Hill
Caption: VICTIMS: Heath and Tara Carey, who survived
yesterday's blast, are shown with daughters Iris, 4, left, and Violet, 5,
who perished.
