Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 4, 1995 TAG: 9501040092
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
On Saturday, they buried Seth Anderson. But the grief has not gone away for the students at Patrick Henry High School.
The agony of Cristina Pruitt remains - and touches the students emotionally as they struggle to comprehend it.
Within eight days during the Christmas holiday break, the death of Seth and the near-death of Cristina, both juniors at Patrick Henry, taught the students how fragile life is.
On Tuesday, the students returned from their holiday break, saddened by the tragedy that had befallen their schoolmates at the Roanoke high school.
They dealt with their grief and sorrow in their own way.
Some talked with counselors, some cried, and others just sat quietly in classes they had shared with Seth.
Seth, 16, died last week of an apparent drug overdose. Cristina, 16, was severely burned Dec. 21 in a fire that killed her mother, two sisters and a brother.
Cristina was in good condition Tuesday at the University of Virginia Burn Center. She still faces weeks of hospitalization and recovery from her burns.
Patrick Henry students have experienced more sorrow and loss in the past two weeks than teen-agers should have to bear, said Principal Elizabeth Lee. This is the first time in several years that a Patrick Henry student has died during the school year, she said.
Lee and many students attended the funerals of Seth and of Cristina's mother and three siblings. Many felt the losses deeply, Lee said.
On Tuesday, Lee spent the day arranging for counselors to talk with students and talking with students herself, with brief interludes for normal duties.
One of the most poignant moments occurred when two of Seth's sisters came to clean out his locker and return his textbooks.
The sisters, Tami and Karma, had attended Patrick Henry themselves. They hugged Lee when they arrived before returning the books in Seth's book bag.
They met privately with Lee for an hour and said afterward that they hope their brother's death will help others to better understand how precious life is.
"Life is very, very fragile," said Tami. "I hope that this is one of the lessons of [Seth's death]."
Both Tami and Karma are students at Brigham Young University in Utah, a school affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. They were home for the holidays when Seth died.
The Anderson family is active in the Mormon Church. Seth also had planned to attend BYU after he graduated from Patrick Henry High.
As a Chistmas gift, Karma gave Seth a shirt emblazoned with the score of the BYU-Notre Dame football game last fall: BYU 21, ND 14.
"He really liked the shirt and was thrilled to get it," Karma said. "He was a great BYU fan."
Tami and Karma said they will most miss his sense of humor, his ability to make others around him feel better, his optimistic attitude and his concern for others.
They said that he apparently died of a drug overdose, but declined to discuss what had occurred. Seth had been out with friends the night before he was found dead in his bed.
Seth had a medical condition that sometimes required medication, but they didn't know whether it was a factor in his death.
Dr. William Massello, the assistant deputy chief medical examiner, said Seth's death was consistent with a drug overdose, but the toxicologist's report won't be available for several weeks.
Until the tests are finished, Massello said Tuesday, he won't know whether Seth died of an overdose of a prescription drug or an illegal drug.
The Anderson sisters said they hope his death will help others to stay away from drugs.
The two sisters said they preferred to remember their brother for what he was as a person - not the circumstances of his death. He had a third sister, who attends Woodrow Wilson Middle School.
The students in Seth's history class were quiet Tuesday as the teacher, Martha Bersch, tried to help them deal with their grief.
"They were very quiet this morning. They are usually talkative, but it was different today," Bersch said.
School officials wanted Seth and Cristina to be in the thoughts of the students and visitors. The sign at the school's entrance on Grandin Road read:
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of Cristina and Seth."
Cristina was severely burned just as the Patrick Henry students were leaving for the holiday break. Her family had moved to Franklin County recently, but she commuted to Patrick Henry.
Lee will visit Cristina Thursday and has offered to take cards, letters and other messages that the students want to send. Many have already sent cards, flowers and other gifts to Cristina in Charlottesville.
Some students said they remember Seth as the boy who always wanted to play Frisbee on the lawn on sunny days. "He just liked to play Frisbee," one student said. Seth also played soccer in a city recreation league.
Some students didn't want to talk about their grief, but that is normal for teen-agers, said Walter Shepherd, school psychologist.
"Some students go through varying levels of grief. They go through denial, then anger and then depression," Shepherd said.
While Seth's death has grieved the students and made them feel sorrow, Lee said, they will have an opportunity to help Cristina when she returns.
``We expect her to recover and return. She will need our support and love when she comes back,'' Lee said.
by CNB