Memorial held for St. George, N.B. fire victims

A memorial service was held for a family of four who died earlier this week in a fire in St. George, N.B.

Esther Boyd and her three adult sons David, William and Robert died of smoke inhalation Tuesday after a fire broke out at their home.  Boyd was a caregiver to her children who all had intellectual challenges.

Firefighters from across the province gathered in the southern part of New Brunswick Saturday to pay tribute to the family.  David, most commonly referred to as “Davey” was an honourary firefighter with the St. George fire department.  More than 400 people attended the memorial, held at two churches in the community — one live, and an overflow church livestreaming the service.

St, Andrews fire chief Kevin Theriault was  in attendance at the memorial and said it’s a sad day for the entire community.

“It’s sombre… it’s going to be a while before everybody gets back to normal I think,” Theriault said.

READ MORE: ‘The community’s grieving’: N.B. town mourns family lost in house fire

Theriault, who is also the president of the Fundy Firefighters Association, said he met Davey a few times at various events.

“He was always happy-go-lucky and glad to be around the firefighters,” Theriault said.

Former St. George mayor Stan Smith knew the Boyd family well and said he and Davey attended the same church.

“He was always there every Sunday,” Smith said. “He was there more than I was. I have to be honest.”

Smith said they were a “lovely family” and said Esther was a wonderful person who took care of “the boys” since they were born and rarely left their sides.

READ MORE: New Brunswick community mourns loss of ‘town mascot’ after family dies in house fire

Bill Pilkington lived next door to the Boyd family on South Street for 36 years and said they will be greatly missed.  He said he will remember Esther most for her courage and resilience and said she did a great job keeping the family together and caring for her sons.

“The boys, there were incredible individuals.  I remember David would always walk around town in his fire uniform,” Pilkington said.

He said he often offered Davey a drive but he declined the offer and continued walking.

READ MORE: New Brunswick house fire that killed family of 4 ‘not suspicious’: RCMP

“Billy used to go everywhere with Esther, so he was so quiet and just such a nice person,” Pilkington said.

He said he didn’t know Robert, the youngest son, very well.

Premier Brian Gallant attended the memorial service and said it struck him how the community came together to support each other.

“Our thoughts are with the community of St. George, the fire fighters and we’ll do whatever we can to support them community during this tough time,” Gallant said.

Theriault said the number of people who attended was a testament to the family.  He said it was also great to see the premier attend.

“It shows this community is so tight-knit.  Everybody knew the Boyd family.  They all loved them,” Theriault said.  “They were there to help them out… and it just shows that this whole community is just one big family.”

Rick Doucet, MLA for Fundy-The Isles-Saint John West, said everyone looks out for each other in the town.

“It’s times like this people pull together.  The whole community pulls together,” Doucet said.  “There’s just so much love that we have in a small community and you really see it as very evident at a time like this.”