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Carl and Sarah Collier, as pictured on Monday’s funeral program.

Mourners bid Colliers goodbye

By JOHN THOMPSON
jthompson@thecitizennews.com

With a late-summer sun shining brightly, nearly 1,000 mourners made their way to the First Baptist Church of Fayetteville Monday morning to bid two stalwarts of the community goodbye.

Carl and Sarah Collier were brutally murdered in their north Fayette home last Monday, each receiving more than 15 stab wounds.

Collier’s granddaughter, Holly Harvey, and her friend, Sandy Ketchum, stand accused of the crimes that have shined a national spotlight on Fayette County. Just a week later, the still-stunned community tried to find closure in the sanctuary of the church.

As the crowd silently filed into one of Fayette’s oldest churches, each mourner was handed a copy of the funeral program, which featured a special message from the Colliers’ son, Kevin.

“Since the tragic and horrific events last Monday evening, you have poured out your love in amazing and miraculous ways from unexpected places at unexpected times,” he wrote.

The Colliers’ son wanted the funeral to be a celebration of their life on earth and in heaven.

With many residents softly weeping, John Glover, who serves as minister and director of special events at First Baptist Church of Atlanta, tried to make some sense of the tragedy.

“This is not God’s fault. These girls used their moral freedom to step out of God’s will. We are not promised tomorrow. Tell someone you love them,” he said.

Glover told the crowd that the Colliers were not in their caskets, and were already in heaven.

The Colliers were members of the First Baptist Church of Atlanta for years before they moved their membership to Fayetteville.

The minster also told the mourners not to blame God for last Monday’s crimes.

One of the most moving parts of the ceremony was the Colliers’ son, Kevin, playing in the orchestra. Kevin started out early taking brass classes at First Baptist in Atlanta, and eventually toured Europe while playing trombone in the church’s orchestra.

With the strings and percussion sections of the orchestra playing in perfect tune, Kevin played his trombone in several of the musical tribute numbers to his parents.

The congregation joined in singing Andre Crouch’s “My Tribute” as the lyrics to the gospel classic were flashed on two giant screens in the church.

Fayetteville First Baptist’s senior adult pastor Glenn Stringham seemed to express a lot of the sentiments in the congregation.

“This is just a small gathering of your friends,” he said.

Stringham recalled tales of Carl Collier going on mission trips to North Dakota and taking time to build a single wall, but he was always ready to help whenever the church called.

Stringham brought the crowd to a silence when he speculated what was going on in the Colliers’ mind the night of the crime.

“Even on Monday night, I’m sure Sarah was thinking, ‘Father, forgive them for they know not what they do,” he said.

Both the Colliers were known for their forgiveness and for doing things for their friends.

“Just a week ago, they gave two friends the book, ‘The Promise Driven Life’ just because they treasured their friendship,” Stringham said.

Fayetteville First Baptist senior pastor Frank Ellis talked about the “wicked plot to execute them.”

“They could have made some simple decisions that no one in this church would have second-guessed,” he added.

Glover talked about hard-working Carl was and that he worked at Delta Air Lines from 1955-1991 when he retired. Two rows of Delta workers sat on the far left side of the church in their work uniforms as a tribute to Collier.

The Atlanta minister told the congregation that both Carl and Sarah loved to travel, and had renewed their vows in Hawaii. Ironically, Sarah was set to travel to the island she so loved on the day of her funeral.

Glover recounted Sarah’s love of decorating and said she decorated for several holidays, including Thanksgiving and July 4.

“But Christmas was her favorite. She even had a cabinet made for all her Department 56 houses,” he said.

The final song of celebration before the caskets left the church was a stirring rendition of “How Great Thou Art” with the Colliers’ son playing a small portion of it as a trombone solo.

Then as the pallbearers moved to the front of the church to escort the caskets outside, Widor’s “Toccata” played, which had a special meaning for Kevin.

“Widor’s ‘Toccata’ will remind you of the wedding recessional when two are united in marriage. Today, may this melody remind you that mom and dad are celebrating their new union with Christ together,” he wrote in the funeral program.

With the music swelling, Carl Collier, in a coffin draped with the American flag, and Sarah Collier, in her coffin with a brilliant display of red roses and baby’s breath, headed to their final resting place.

Outside, Kevin Collier greeted family and friends, who wept and expressed their grief over the loss of two of the county’s beloved citizens.