Pamela O. Jett and Harold 'Junior' Ray Jett Jr.SIPSEY, Alabama -- Their lives revolved around their daughter
Half an hour before the tornado struck, Freda Owens took some fried chicken and all the fixings to her son-in-law's home, a double-wide not far away.
It was Junior Jett's birthday.
Freda would have baked him a cake, but the power was out from early-morning straight-line winds. So she went to Jasper for takeout.
Junior, 47, and his wife, Pam, 43, both of Sipsey, lived just up the hill. They were a close couple who laughed a lot together, and their lives had revolved around their 21-year-old daughter, Brittney.
Brittney started playing softball as a tot, and Junior coached her for years. In high school she was a star -- an all-county pitcher at Dora High with a college scholarship offer. But Brittney wanted to stay near home. She went to Bevill State to study nursing and continued to live with her parents.
As the tornado neared about 5:45 p.m., Brittney was with Owens. They ran to the brick home of Owens' aunt as trees toppled and savage winds hit in a blink of an eye, Owens said.
"After, we walked outside and it was like the sun came out," she said. "I looked up the hill and I saw that their trailer was not there."
Her husband ran ahead of Owens, and then came back and stopped her.
Pam and Junior had both died and lay near each other. Pam's cocker spaniel, Jadie, was also dead, lying close to Junior's feet. Their home had blown into the woods.
"Part of me thinks Junior had Jadie in his arms," Owens said. "Maybe they were coming out the back door to come to my house."
The Sunday before Easter, Pam and Junior had rededicated their lives to Christ at Empire Church of God. Junior, a diesel mechanic, was on disability and finances had grown tough.
But their roots were in Walker County with its heritage of coal mining, where tough is a daily part of life.
When Brittney was born, she weighed 3 pounds, 14 ounces. A doctor said she might be slow in development.
"No she won't," Pam said fiercely. "I won't let her be."
On that last day, Pam had feared for her mother and father. The 6 a.m. winds had toppled a large pecan tree onto Owens' home, and Pam urged her mother to leave the damaged house.
"I almost lost you and daddy this morning," she told her mother. "I don't want to lose you both."
Then the tornado came, and it picked Pam and Junior instead. The couple were buried at New Canaan Cemetery, an old community plot where Junior's parents lie.