Prayer service provided place for youths to grieve
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

Kevin Clawson

The death of any human being illuminates the fragility of life and how swiftly it might be taken away, and when the lives that end belong to children, the pain sears even deeper.

Friends and families gathered together at the St. Rose of Lima Chapel in Freehold Borough on Feb. 28 to provide comfort and strength to one another as they grieved the loss of two youngsters, Graeme Preston, 12, and Kevin Clawson, 13, both of Freehold Township.

Both boys were killed in an accident that occurred on Feb. 27 on Bar Harbor Road in Freehold Township. The prayer service on the following evening was held to provide a comforting space for the many youngsters and adults who knew the boys.

The chapel was filled to capacity with mourners. Youngsters dressed in jeans, many of them wearing school jackets depicting the tenderness of their years, came with parents who supported them. They came to mourn the death of their friends and to lend support and strength to the families of the two boys.

The boys were on Bar Harbor Road in the Juniper Farms development off Route 9 in the township at about 6 p.m. Feb. 27 when they were struck by a Dodge Caravan driven by Frederick C. Eckhardt, 84, of Freehold Borough.

The Preston family and the Eckhardt family are members of St. Rose of Lima.

According to Monmouth County First Assistant Prosecutor Peter E. Warshaw Jr., the tragedy was an accident and remains under investigation.

Kevin was pronounced dead that night at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township, shortly after the accident occurred on Feb. 27. Graeme died on the afternoon of Feb. 28 at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune.

The service at St. Rose on the evening of Feb. 28 included prayers and readings as well as heartfelt words from members of Graeme's family. Graeme's aunts both spoke and said they were moved by the turnout, which they said attested to how many people's lives the boys had touched.

One of the prayer readers said, "God's home would provide comfort to them." He said he prayed that God would hold the families of Graeme and Kevin in "His loving hands" and that "God would also impart strength" to the Prestons and the Clawsons, and would "help to ease Mr. Eckhardt in his suffering."

Mary Ann Papp, director of the St. Rose youth group, said that having a service such as this was unusual in a parish church. She said a church is usually a place for prayer and reflection.

"But this case calls for an exception," Papp said.

Soft crying could be heard throughout the chapel as the youngsters embraced one another and tried to absorb the words that were intended to offer some measure of comfort at this very dark time for them.

In addressing the children, Papp said, "You need to be in relationships now, to touch, to speak to one another. Traditional rules don't apply now. Lay on the floor, talk to one another. Do whatever you need to do to give comfort to one another and to your own hearts. Reach out in kindness and compassion to each other. Use

this space to give comfort

to one another with no inhibitions. This is a time to share and you are welcome to share with one another here."

Graeme and Kevin were students at the EisenhowerMiddle School in Freehold Township. Friends of the youngsters were seen on Feb. 28 creating a memorial tribute to the boys.

In the days after the accident, the area surrounding a telephone pole on Bar Harbor Road near where the accident occurred was covered with colorful flowers, cards and T-shirts with personalized messages of love hand-written on them.

The memorial and the mementoes, acting like touchstones, marked the place where the youngsters collided with tragedy.

Kevin is survived by his parents, David and Jane Clawson; two brothers, David Scott Clawson, of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Michael Clawson of Freehold; two sisters, Patricia Clawson ofAllentown and Jennifer Clawson of Ossining, N.Y.; a grandmother, Jacqueline Boldridge of Brick Township; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

At press time, the News Transcript had not received obituary information for Graeme Preston.