Twins Lost to Blaze Memorialized at Service

What comfort do you give after two toddlers are killed in one day?

A preacher with the Church of Christ on River Road In tried to provide some comfort Friday at a memorial service in honor of Micah and Miah Shaver, 3-year-old fraternal twins who were killed in a mobile home blaze Monday.

“They have gone on to a different world, but that does not mean we will not see them again,” said preacher Chris Steele.

The memorial was attended by the twins’ mother Shannon Garza, and a crowd that sat in the church in New Port Richey, which Garza later said was mostly family.

Steele delivered the sermon in the twins’ memories.  He called them “sweet” and "innocent.”

He quoted from the Bible, passage Matthew 19. The text refers to Jesus Christ saying: “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Steele said to Garza “I would not profess to know what you really are going through today.”

He said that it’s easy to blame God at times like these, but that “He was not to blame for the loss of Micah and Miah.“

Authorities are still investigating the cause of the blaze that broke out Monday at a trailer at 10637 Wabayo St. in Moon Lake.

Garza, 30, received burns on her arms and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Her two older children, Yolanda and Joseph Garza, were at school during the blaze and are still alive.

In the wake of the fire, the community has come out to show support for the grieving family.

Garza, who tried to reach her kids in the trailer during the blaze didn’t want to say much to the press after the memorial service, but she did tell the press she wanted to thank the community for their support and donations.  

She remembered Miah and Micah as “two loving kids that loved to go and play outside. They loved the outdoors.”

The Tampa Tribune reports River Ridge Middle School, which Garza's two older children attend, has raised more than $2,300 for the family.

Jo Ann Williams, the twins' aunt, said that a fund  that the community can contribute  to has been set up for the family. Donations can be made at any Bank of America to The Shaver Funeral and Family Assistance Fund.