CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Amid so much devastation from Saturday’s tornado in Clarksville, one family was hit even harder with the death of their 10-year-old son.
The two-story home of the Burnham family on Henry Place Boulevard collapsed, trapping two of their three children under the rubble. Neighbor Billy Urban was the first on the scene, and he pulled the children from the debris, their father Kyle Burnham told Clarksville Now.
“I owe him so much. He saved our daughter,” Burnham said.
Sadly, their son Arlan Garrick Coty did not survive. Arlan was a fourth-grader at West Creek Elementary School.
“My son was amazing,” his mother, Katherine Burnham, said. “There is no one in this world like him. Anyone that has ever encountered him is experiencing a loss.”
“They’re a great family, truly wonderful people, and I hate that they’re having to deal with this,” said Burnham’s supervisor, Brian Burkeen at Wyatt Johnson Toyota. “They’re trying to piece things back together.”
How to donate
Donations to help the family are being collected at Wyatt Johnson Toyota, 2595 Wilma Rudolph Blvd. As far as what they need? “They need everything,” Burkeen said. “They lost everything.”
Clothing sizes:
- Kyle: XL shirts, 38 pants, 10.5 shoes
- Mother: M/L shirt, M pants, 7 shoes
- 13-year-old girl: S shirt, S pants, 8 shoes
- Boy: 6/7 in everything but on the small side, 13.5 boys shoe or 1 men’s shoe
To help the Burnham family financially, visit the GoFundMe page.
“Our family is deeply touched from the support we have received from our community, Wyatt Johnson and Kellanova families,” Katherine Burnham said. “We will never be able to put into words how forever grateful we will be to you all.”
Correction: Arlan was 10-year-old fourth-grader.
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