Young Mourner Stands Out At Worcester Firefighter's Funeral
WORCESTER (CBS) - Even among the many high-profile dignitaries at the funeral of fallen Worcester firefighter Jon Davies, 11-year-old Jared Flanders is worthy of being singled out.
"I really felt bad for the family and Jon, the firefighter that died, and so I wanted to go there and support them," Flanders said.
At Davies' wake Wednesday night, the sixth-grader left grown men near tears after he put on his dress clothes and rode his bike to the funeral home all alone.
While most adults struggle with what to say a wake; Jared found the words.
"I went down and I said 'I'm so sorry' to each of them," he said.
The Davies family was so touched by this young man, they asked him not just to come to the funeral, but to be part of the procession to the church as well.
The young man, unfortunately, has been in this situation before.
WBZ-TV's Jim Armstrong reports
Jared's older brother had a very hard time coping after coming home from serving in Iraq. He took his own life late last summer.
Jared's dad says even before that, his son just had a natural empathy.
"He's always had a big heart and he's always doing things for other people," Gene Flanders said.
In this case, Jared's kindness has resulted in a lot of attention - all of it positive, and all well-deserved.
"They were all saying it was very nice of you to come down here all by yourself and pay your respects," Jared said. "It makes me feel like I'm a really special kid."
