Funerals Begin For Tornado Victims

A family killed when a cluster of tornadoes swept through the South this week is in heaven together, a pastor said during a funeral Friday attended by so many mourners that the church had to televise the service in a gymnasium.

The Cherry family died Tuesday as they tried to quiet their horses on their rural lot as a tornado approached the small town of Atkins, a community of about 3,000 in northwest Arkansas that was among the worst hit by the storms.

Bible Baptist Church Pastor Ron Kauffman said some family members told him they could see 10-year-old Emmy "sitting on Jesus' lap reading to him."

"They wouldn't have wanted one to go without the other," Kauffman said.

The family's funeral was among the first for the 59 people killed as the tornadoes swept through Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. The storms, which left the nation's highest tornado-related death toll in more than two decades, caused widespread damage.

One tornado in Tennessee was an "EF-4" - a devastating twister with winds up to 200 miles an hour, powerful enough to level well-built homes and turn cars and refrigerators into missiles, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella. Only one percent of tornados become this intense.

President Bush toured hard-hit areas Friday. Even before he landed, he declared major disasters in Tennessee and Arkansas. The move opens the spigot of federal funding to cover some costs, shared with local governments, for debris removal and protective measures and to help individuals. Sensitive to criticism it was ignoring other states hit by the storms, the White House said these were the only two states that had so far asked for help.

"There's no doubt in my mind this community will come back better than before," Bush said in Macon County, a poor tobacco-farming area near the Kentucky border. "Macon County people are down-to-earth, hardworking, God-fearing people. They're just getting a little help and will come back stronger."

Bush walked to the Lafayette, Tenn. home of Phil and June Spears to visit with shattered residents, urging them to take solace in the people who have flocked to the area to help the community recover.

"We're sorry you're going through what you're going through," the president said. "Life sometimes is unfair, but there's help."

Besides cleanup, the county now has other worries - looters, power shortages and a large number of residents still unaccounted for. The whereabouts of 230 county residents remained unknown, said Melissa McDonald, a spokeswoman for the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.

It was believed the missing were most likely staying with relatives or in hotels outside the county, but authorities found three people Wednesday night in a basement where they had been trapped. Searchers went door to door Thursday, marking homes with taped X's afterward.

Macon County was under a 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew. Sheriff's Detective Jeff Brewer said authorities received many calls about looters, though he didn't have details. Access to the worst-damaged areas was tightly controlled by police during the day, with residents required to show identification at checkpoints before going to their homes.

Authorities here said they need all the help they can get. "I think when you look at the area, it's pretty obvious," Macon County Mayor Shelvy Linville said.

There were bright spots. The town's McDonald's reopened, quickly creating jammed counters and a drive-thru backup spilling into the road. Other fast-food restaurants also opened.

People streamed in from out of town with offers to help with whatever needed to be done.

"I really appreciate it," said Jerry Anderson, referring to a dozen people helping retrieve belongings and pile up debris from a home where the only thing still standing was the bathroom where Anderson, his wife and their four children survived the tornado. "I don't know none of these people. They're just good people."

At the family's funeral, bouquets and wreaths of sunflowers, red roses, pink carnations, and lilies filled the front of the church and surrounded the pulpit, embracing the bronze, silver and white caskets. Framed photographs and flowers sat atop the coffins.

Mourners formed a line to sign guest registries and watch a video with family photos of Jimmy, 40, Dana, 43, and their daughter as piano music played in the background.

Dana's sister Scotty Manning remembered Emmy as a smart child with a strong faith in Christ. She said Jimmy was a wonderful husband and father, who would pile onto the couch with Emmy and their two dogs to watch television at night. She described her sister as a woman who believed in the power of prayer during daily struggles. For the final hymn, a projector showed a video of Dana singing "cherish the lamb of God."