Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, December 24, 1994 TAG: 9412270099
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Jim Schaeffer, 75, was rushed to the hospital Nov. 20 after collapsing at church. He was declared dead at 12:46 p.m., a victim of heart disease, high blood pressure and stroke.
Before the heart monitor flattened out, Schaeffer's wife, Esther, said she had urged him to stay alive until their son, Philip, 18, and daughter, Robin, 21, could reach his deathbed. She also contacted one of his closest friends, Pastor Philip Williams.
When Williams arrived, he touched Schaeffer and prayed. At 1:08 p.m., as staff prepared to remove the body, the heart monitor showed a heartbeat and blood was charted pumping through Schaeffer's body.
Esther Schaeffer told her husband to open his eyes if he could hear her. He did. She told him she loved him and asked him to blink if he understood. He responded with an ``I love you.''
Schaeffer then told his friends and family how much he cared for them and that God blessed them. Schaeffer also asked several times for son Philip.
Ninety minutes after he had revived, Schaeffer's heart began to falter - just as Philip walked through the door, in time to tell his father he loved him.
Cardiologist Larry Jackson, who attended to Schaeffer, is amazed at what took place. ``It's unreal that could happen.''
- Associated Press
Woman charged in family's deaths
CHESAPEAKE - A woman is accused of killing her husband and two children while they slept early Friday morning, Chesapeake police said.
Janice Eastman, 32, was arrested on three counts of murder after talking with police for several hours.
Authorities say Eastman phoned a relative in North Carolina on Friday morning to talk about the killings. The relative then called police, authorities said.
- Associated Press
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB