Coralrose Fullwood, 6, remembered as a vibrant, precious child to those who loved her.
FORT MYERS -- Six-year-old Coralrose Fullwood was a vibrant, precious child whose smile lit up a room and brought joy to everyone who knew her, Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz said at the girl's memorial service Monday.
Calling Coralrose a "true Jewish soldier," Minkowicz said, "She was a real happy girl. She always had a smile on her face. Nothing was ever a problem."
Close to 200 people attended Coralrose's memorial service Monday morning at the Harvey-Englehardt-Metz Funeral Home in Fort Myers. Coralrose was found murdered Sept. 17 behind a home under construction, two blocks from where she lived in North Port. No arrest has been made in the case.
Minkowicz said Coralrose's memorial service was a "very moving service" and difficult for him to take part in. He knew Coralrose well, he said. She attended the Chabad School on Winkler Road in Fort Myers.
Minkowicz recalled a story Coralrose's grandmother told him.
"(Coralrose) was visiting another school, and they were singing a song. Being the new kid in the school, she told the teacher they were singing the song wrong. The teacher, thinking she was a smart aleck, said 'show me, how do you sing it.' She sang it the right way. She also taught them a new song they did not know," he said.
Minkowicz said her grandmother also said Coralrose would lead the whole Passover Seder for the entire family.
"It was a real blessing to have had her in our school, and we miss her dearly," Minkowicz said. "It's a real loss. A tremendous loss."
"She was always happy, joyful, and that was her power," Minkowicz said. "She didn't deserve such an ending."
Minkowicz let out a sigh, paused, then said, "When you do a service, you try to connect with the people, and you try to put yourself in their shoes."
He said he gave it some thought, and said there is never a good time to die.
"When God decides, obviously that's the time," Minkowicz said.
He said usually our intellect would help rationalize a person's death, such as someone who died of an illness or in an accident. However, Coralrose's death was not an accident.
"The coldest intellect, and a most unemotional person without feelings has to be moved when a 6-year-old was taken from a family," he said. "But this was not an accident that can be rationalized."
"I don't think anybody can rationalize it. I don't think anyone can feel good or comfortable with it. I think it's a terrible thing to happen," Minkowicz said.
The North Port Police Department sent four officers, including Chief Terry Lewis, to Monday's memorial service. Detective Tom Stellar, Lt. Detective Ed Fitzpatrick, and Lt. Kevin Sullivan also attended the memorial.
"We felt it was the right thing to do," Lewis said. "We just wanted (Coralrose) to know we are there for her."
Lewis said the case has had an emotional toll on the officers, and it was a "personal thing" for them to come.
"(Lt.) Kevin Sullivan felt strongly about coming. He was the supervisor during the search for Coralrose," Lewis said.
In an earlier interview, and grieving over his granddaughter's death, Saul VanderWoulde thanked the community last week for support.
"It's hard enough to lose a granddaughter but I have to thank the community for helping out financially," he said. "The temple is handling a fund for my granddaughter."
Coralrose will be buried at Fort Myers City Cemetery in about three weeks, according to the Harvey-Englehardt-Metz Funeral Home Director Doreena Medina.
"The ground is too soft from all the rain," Medina said.
You can e-mail George McGinn at gmcginn@sun-herald.com.
BY GEORGE McGINN
FORT MYERS -- Six-year-old Coralrose Fullwood was a vibrant, precious child whose smile lit up a room and brought joy to everyone who knew her, Rabbi Yitzchok Minkowicz said at the girl's memorial service Monday.
Calling Coralrose a "true Jewish soldier," Minkowicz said, "She was a real happy girl. She always had a smile on her face. Nothing was ever a problem."
Close to 200 people attended Coralrose's memorial service Monday morning at the Harvey-Englehardt-Metz Funeral Home in Fort Myers. Coralrose was found murdered Sept. 17 behind a home under construction, two blocks from where she lived in North Port. No arrest has been made in the case.
Minkowicz said Coralrose's memorial service was a "very moving service" and difficult for him to take part in. He knew Coralrose well, he said. She attended the Chabad School on Winkler Road in Fort Myers.
Minkowicz recalled a story Coralrose's grandmother told him.
"(Coralrose) was visiting another school, and they were singing a song. Being the new kid in the school, she told the teacher they were singing the song wrong. The teacher, thinking she was a smart aleck, said 'show me, how do you sing it.' She sang it the right way. She also taught them a new song they did not know," he said.
Minkowicz said her grandmother also said Coralrose would lead the whole Passover Seder for the entire family.
"It was a real blessing to have had her in our school, and we miss her dearly," Minkowicz said. "It's a real loss. A tremendous loss."
"She was always happy, joyful, and that was her power," Minkowicz said. "She didn't deserve such an ending."
Minkowicz let out a sigh, paused, then said, "When you do a service, you try to connect with the people, and you try to put yourself in their shoes."
He said he gave it some thought, and said there is never a good time to die.
"When God decides, obviously that's the time," Minkowicz said.
He said usually our intellect would help rationalize a person's death, such as someone who died of an illness or in an accident. However, Coralrose's death was not an accident.
"The coldest intellect, and a most unemotional person without feelings has to be moved when a 6-year-old was taken from a family," he said. "But this was not an accident that can be rationalized."
"I don't think anybody can rationalize it. I don't think anyone can feel good or comfortable with it. I think it's a terrible thing to happen," Minkowicz said.
The North Port Police Department sent four officers, including Chief Terry Lewis, to Monday's memorial service. Detective Tom Stellar, Lt. Detective Ed Fitzpatrick, and Lt. Kevin Sullivan also attended the memorial.
"We felt it was the right thing to do," Lewis said. "We just wanted (Coralrose) to know we are there for her."
Lewis said the case has had an emotional toll on the officers, and it was a "personal thing" for them to come.
"(Lt.) Kevin Sullivan felt strongly about coming. He was the supervisor during the search for Coralrose," Lewis said.
In an earlier interview, and grieving over his granddaughter's death, Saul VanderWoulde thanked the community last week for support.
"It's hard enough to lose a granddaughter but I have to thank the community for helping out financially," he said. "The temple is handling a fund for my granddaughter."
Coralrose will be buried at Fort Myers City Cemetery in about three weeks, according to the Harvey-Englehardt-Metz Funeral Home Director Doreena Medina.
"The ground is too soft from all the rain," Medina said.
You can e-mail George McGinn at gmcginn@sun-herald.com.
BY GEORGE McGINN
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