As printed in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram
By Pennie Boyett
Staff Writer
Posted on Sun, Feb. 11, 2007
Editor’s note: Three weeks ago in this space, this newspaper reported the death of 13-year-old Danae Talluto in a traffic accident on Jan. 23. This week, with her family’s consent, two people who knew Danae tell about how she is remembered.
Danae Talluto had mud in her hair.
It was a Sunday night and Danae’s C-Group – C for connection – was meeting at Kim Burke’s house in Argyle. Eleven teens, all eighth-graders at Medlin Middle School in Trophy Club, all participants in the middle school program at Cross Timbers Community Church in Argyle, gather there every Sunday night.
They would be serious, studying the Bible, asking questions and talking about their own lives. And they would also eat, laugh and have fun.
Earlier that day, Burke said, Danae and her best friend had enjoyed a mud fight.
“She had a grand old time that day,” Burke said.
That was Jan. 21 and the last time Burke saw her. Two days later, Danae, 13, died after a van driven by her brother collided with a truck on Texas 170 and Alta Vista Road.
Danae was an intuitive girl, Burke said. She asked lots of questions.
“About a week before that, we had a C-Group sleepover,” she said. “[Danae and her best friend] were both in their sleeping bags, with them upside down over their heads, and they were wrestling on the floor. They had us all laughing.”
Danae had been in the group for five or six months.
“She was a very happy girl, always smiling, full of energy. Full of laughs,” Burke said. “She was an awesome kid.”
Cross Timbers offers a variety of programs for middle school students like Danae.
On Wednesday nights, more than 200 kids come to the church for Elevate, activities and a worship service, Matt Ferguson, youth pastor at Cross Timbers, said.
Danae was always attentive during the message, he said, looking at him and taking notes.
“Her grandmother told me she would call her in Michigan and repeat the lesson,” he said. “She and her grandma would sing songs to each other over the phone.”
In October, Danae asked to be baptized.
She took it seriously, Ferguson said, but she had one concern. She didn’t want to look silly when she got wet.
At Cross Timbers, baptism is by immersion.
“I know it’s silly, me worrying about being wet,” she told Ferguson. “This is important to me. I want to do it.”
Burke called all the girls in the C-Group the day after the accident and asked them to meet her at the church before Elevate that night.
They went together to the candlelight vigil the next evening and to the memorial service the day after that.
“I talked to them. I wanted to know what they needed,” she said. “There’s really nothing that you
can do except give support and answer questions.”
The church has tried to help Danae’s friends, particularly those in the C-Group, with their grief.
“This is a new experience for a lot of our kids,” Ferguson said. “When students grieve, they need something to physically lay down, such as flowers, pictures, that kind of stuff.”
The candlelight vigil was one such opportunity. At Medlin, art supplies had been laid out in the library so her friends could write letters and draw pictures.
“The school gave those to the family and they gave them to us,” Ferguson said. These were displayed.
They put out more paper and pens. People lit candles and wore pink, Danae’s favorite color.
Burke has given the girls an opportunity to talk and ask questions.
One of the big questions the girls ask is: “What am I going to do without her?”
She tells them: “You’re going to do exactly what Danae would want you to do. You’re going to grieve and you’re going to go on with your life and be a happy person.”
She echoes words that Ferguson said at a worship service: “If Danae were given the choice, she would definitely stay in heaven. She’s up there having a grand time now.”
Last Sunday, each of them wrote a note to Danae. The girls attached the notes to pink balloons and released them, sending their messages into the sky.
She knows that grief takes time and that in a month or two, reality will set in and the girls will need to talk even more.
In their sadness, they will remember a girl who was happy.
“Her life can be summed up by her smile,” Burke said. “She just had the most beautiful smile.”
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So many people noticed it ... her smile. I was reading through some emails and comments that people had sent me about Danae. Her kindness and her obvious love for God was mentioned often, but so was her smile.
"She always had this beautifull bigg gorgeous smile on her face everyday."
"I can't even begin to describe how much I miss her wonderful smile she would always give me ..."
"... her beautiful face, uplifting smile and eyes that shine."
"I loved how she always smiled. When we would walk home together, she never stopped ..."
"... brighten his day with your wonderful smile and personality."
.
Comments were posted on the web version of this article:
"Danae was my beautiful and awesome niece. Even though she was only 13 years old, there was so much about her that inspired me. And although I miss her terribly, I agree with Matt Ferguson: Danae is up in heaven having a grand time right now! It's so funny that the title of this article is "She Had the Most Beautiful Smile". This is an entry from my blog dated Jan. 30: "I remember at Thanksgiving, I hadn't seen for for awhile, probably since the summer. When she walked in, I couldn't believe it. Since I had last seen her, she had made that transformation from a child to this beautiful young woman. And I said, "Danae! You're so beautiful!" And she gave me that amazing smile of hers." I miss her so much."
"This girl was by far one of the most prettiest girls in the 8th grade. I will always remember her smile."
"I didn't know Danae that well but My breother Gloedis knew her really well. My brother is kind of the tough i don't cry kind of person but when danae died he cried alot so that's when i knew that danae was a great person and when i saw her picture i saw that she was beautiful and that her smile could make anybody's day so even though i didn't know her i'm thanking her for showing me how short life really is and how god can take you away at anytime.
I'm sending my prayers to her family and most importantly to her brother Marco and i hope he gets better and i send kisses and hugs to everyone who knew her and i want to say one more thing that God blessed me by sending this beautiful person into this world and helped me see her beautiful smile and her beautiful soul.
May God bless her family and may they prosper in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And i send all my love to Danae in heaven and I hope to meet her there one day."
n
Shelli lives down the street from us. She and Sara have been friends since they were four years old. Shelli is like part of my family. And likewise, Sara is like part of theirs. Shelli's dad loved Sara like his own daughter.
Hi Pam,
This is Emily, Monica's daughter. You have made an amazing site about my most wonderful, and indescribable friend, Danae Elizabeth Talluto. I can't even begin to describe how much I miss her wonderful smile she would always give me every Wednesday night at Elevate. We would talk to each other every time I went there. All of the times I looked at her while we were singing, she would have her hand in the air, praising the God she loved so much. I miss her a lot, and I know she touched many lives. I loved her. I will continue to pray for everyone that knew Danae. I know that she was loved, and still will always be.
~Emily~