A church leader and his wife were laid to rest Sunday, after hundreds came to mourn their tragic deaths.
Pastor Fanley Thomas and his wife Florence died last Sunday, when they drove into the path of an oncoming train.
After walking into the Saint Paul Baptist Church in Mamou, it was obvious that Pastor Fanley Thomas and his wife Florence were a beloved couple.
Calvin Collins: "They didn't have to know you, if you had a problem you could come to them and they would help you out."
Friends and family came in from far and wide for the funeral, where the remains of Pastor Thomas and his wife were together in one casket.
Just like being buried together as one, family members tell us the two were very much the same person.
Calvin Collins: "They was 2 bodies, but just like one person, whatever she wanted, or whatever Fanley wanted, they was in it together."
Many of those in attendance wore pink for Florence, since it was her favorite color, and at the wake, in honor of Fanley, the color to wear was blue.
Family members we spoke with are still wondering why this happened to the couple, who were both just 54 years old.
But they held tight to their beliefs, saying the two were taken for a reason, and are now at peace with god.
Calvin Collins: "I know they in his bosom right now in heaven with his angels."
The couple had four children together. Family members tell us they may consider taking legal action against the railroad company, but at this time they are trying to heal.
Katie Johnson
After a train crash killed a pastor and his wife on their way to church Sunday, family members and the congregation are left with heavy hearts as they try to move on.
The accident happened right in front of their church in Lemoine. That's a small community in St Landry Parish, just east of US Highway 71.
Pastor Fanley Thomas and his wife Florence were killed Sunday morning crossing the tracks at highway 71, just feet away from a congregation awaiting their sermon.
The train was heading north on the tracks, the pastor and his wife were heading south, turned into the driveway, and obviously didn't see the train. As tragic as it was , we're told it could've been much worse.
It was just the pastor and his wife in the car, but the pastor was known to bring his mother and two grandchildren to Sunday service with him.
There are no active emergency signals, such as flashing lights or cross-arms at the intersection. Congregation members say they will now press to get active emergency indicators at the intersection.
They say had it been someone else who met the same fate, future protection would have been the pastor's main goal.
DOTD officials say since the intersection is a private road, public funding for emergency signals is a stretch.
Jason Newton,
A community is mourning the death of a church leader and his wife after their lives were taken in a tragic accident in the town of Lemoine.
The devout couple was just a few feet away from their church when a train collided with their car, killing them both.
At the Saint John Baptist Church in Lemoine, mass was canceled Sunday. Members of the congregation gathered across the street instead, as they watched sheriff's officials clean up after the tragic accident that killed Pastor Fanley Thomas and his wife Florence.
The pastor and his wife were driving to church just like they do every Sunday, when they were stuck by at a train crossing which is literally right in front of the church. Church goers that we spoke with tell us that Pastor Thomas often warned them about similar accidents.
Sheriff's officials tell us the train hit the car on the passenger side, causing the car to burst into flames.
The car was pushed more than 200 feet from the point of impact, landing right next to the church's cemetery.
Those who knew the pastor tell us his death is a major loss for all those who knew him.
Raymon Whitehurst: "If you didn't meet this fellow, you missed a gem, because he was one of the best people walking on the face of this earth."
Richard Callihan: "He was a very good person for this community. He loved his people."
The Saint Landry Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating the tragic accident.
Katie Johnson
