Cremation Society of the Cascades

Longview, died June 30 at home. Cascade Northwest Funeral Chapel at Green Hills Memorial Gardens & Crematory.Berlin — Judith Marie, 75, Longview, died Saturday at home. Cascade Northwest Funeral Chapel at Green Hills Memorial Gardens & Crematory.Hune — Janice L., 71, Kalama, died Saturday at the Hospice Care Center. Cascade Northwest Funeral Chapel at Green Hills Memorial Gardens & Crematory.Melton — Monty, 63, Ilwaco, died July 15 at Ocean Beach Hospital, Ilwaco. Penttila's Chapel by the Sea, Long Beach.Vanzandt — John W. Sr., 79, Longview, died Saturday at St. John Medical Center. Cascade Northwest Funeral Chapel at Green Hills Memorial Gardens & Crematory. (Longview Daily News)

Joel and Alex were very, very tight,” longtime family friend Jeff Beal said, the words catching in his throat. “Now his grandfather’s escorting him on up to Jesus.”Baker, 73, and Alex, 11, were killed June 22 in a fiery crash on State Road 15A in DeLand.Charges are pending against another motorist, Sergio Peña-Ramirez, 18, of DeLand, according to Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes.Just before 10 p.m. June 22, Baker was exiting Cascades Park in a 2009 Chevrolet pickup. As he entered the intersection of Cascades Park Boulevard and S.R. 15A, a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, driven by Peña-Ramirez at “a high rate of speed,” struck Baker’s pickup on the driver’s side, overturning the truck and ejecting Baker, according to a report issued by the Florida Highway Patrol.Rolling into the southbound lanes of S.R. 15A, the truck was engulfed in flames.The Camaro came to a stop in the inside northbound lane of S.R. 15A and also caught on fire, the FHP reported.Peña-Ramirez was taken to Halifax Health Medical Center in critical condition.On June 27, a hospital spokeswoman said his condition could not be released because of health-privacy laws.A witnessDeLand City Commissioner Jessica Davis was among the first people to drive up to the accident scene.Davis was less than five minutes from her home, traveling south on S.R. 15A, when she came upon what she described as “a big ball of fire.”“I wasn’t sure of what I was witnessing,” Davis said in a phone interview June 24. “I had never seen anything like that before.”Immediately, she called 911. Then she began to pray.Hers was the first vehicle in the line that quickly formed.“We all were helpless,” Davis said. “There was so much fire. We could only wait, frozen. In that moment, there’s just nothing you can do. We couldn’t even get close enough to help.”Emergency responders from multiple agencies rushed to the scene.“I’d like to thank all involved in the joint effort to support each other,” Davis said. “And I’d like to express my thanks to Officer [Joshua] Santos for calming m... (The West Volusia Beacon)