Peoples affected by storms in the United States mourn their dead

Communities affected by the recent tornadoes in the south and central-west of U.S They now undertake a painful task: to mourn their dead and give them a dignified burial.

LOOK: Powerful storms kill at least one in the United States

The storms killed dozens of people in Arkansas, Illinois and neighboring states. In Kentucky alone they left a 200-mile trail of destruction. The National Weather Service recorded at least 41 tornadoes, including 16 in Tennessee and eight in Kentucky.

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In western Kentucky, a funeral home was preparing to assist the families of the victims while mourning its own dead.

Beshear Funeral Home in Dawson Springs was preparing at least four funerals while dealing with delays caused by storms, said owner Jenny Beshear Sewell, a cousin to the Kentucky governor.

Among the victims were two sisters, both employees of the funeral home, the only one from that town.

Carole Grisham, 80, and Marsha Hall, 72, decided to let the storm pass, taking refuge in their home in the dead of night, Sewell said by phone. The house, which did not have a basement, was reduced to rubble.

Hall, a veteran funeral home employee, had a rough day Friday, hours before she perished, Sewell said. He recalled that Hall, leaving that afternoon, said goodbye saying “Well see you.”

As the tornado approached, Sewell texted Hall begging that she and her sister go to the basement of the funeral home or a nearby church. “Ok,” Hall replied and was not heard from again.

The funeral home was still making arrangements in honor of Grisham and Hall, but there will surely be a joint funeral, Sewell said.

Meanwhile, the funeral home was preparing services for other victims and for a woman whose funeral ceremony had to be postponed from the previous Saturday. If the heating service does not return in the next few days, “people will just have to bundle up, it’s the best we can do,” Sewell said.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear has promised each family of victims $ 5,000 to pay for funeral expenses. That state was the hardest hit, with 74 deaths reported so far.

In Madisonville, further west of Kentucky, friends and family mourned a couple who died when the tornado struck the nearby community of Dawson Springs.

Jeffrey Eckert, 70, was “mysterious, but funny,” recalled his nephew Mike Eckert.

Jeffrey Eckert, the nephew recalled, played music in various bands, owned a boat, and studied a pilot’s license course.

His wife, Jennifer Eckert, 69, was remembered as a woman who cooked delicious cakes and loved her grandchildren.

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Deshawn