Funeral
held
for Dominick Calhoun,
4-year-old boy who died after beating in Argentine Township
By Laura Angus
| Flint Journal
The
50-year-old
Fenton woman gently rested her hand on his tiny white casket and cried
as she kissed its surface.
She, along with many others, said
goodbye Friday to four-year-old Dominick Calhoun.
The Argentine Township boy was
found severely beaten on April 11 after days of torture, allegedly at
the hands of his mother’s boyfriend. He was removed from life support
the following day after he was declared brain dead.
Dominick’s death made national
headlines and a Facebook page in his memory — Justice for Dominick
Calhoun — had more than 15,000 fans as of Friday afternoon.
Friday, Dominick’s casket was
surrounded by teddy bears and a toy dump truck as children no older
than him played in the aisles during the funeral service and punctuated
the tearful silences at the Fenton Freedom Center.
“It comforts me to know this: That
regardless of how awful his last moments were, the very next moment, he
saw ... the face of God and he was safe, and he was healed and he was
loved,” said the Rev. Jim Wiegand, through tears.
Family members spoke about the
little boy they loved, saying he “stole pretty much every girl’s
heart,” and they talked about the man they imagined him growing to be.
His aunt, Christine Baker, 16,
spoke during the service and apologized to Dominick that his “Aunt
’Stine” was not there in time to help him.
“This bond and love we shared is
something I’ll never have again,” said an emotional Baker.
She called the boy her angel and
said he had an irreplaceable spot in her heart.
Other family members recounted
humorous stories about the little boy who loved to make people laugh,
including a time Dominick asked an aunt if her boyfriend was the
mailman because he visited so often.
A family friend, Aaron Nash,
brought laughter from the crowd when he said that Dominick “definitely knew how cute he was
and he used it to his advantage.”
>The boy was known for his bright
blue eyes, blonde hair and big smile.
Nash remembered a time when he
wasn’t feeling well, but Dominick wanted to play basketball.
“‘You better cheer up, Aaron, or
I’m going, I’m going to beat you up,’” Nash recounted Dominick’s
threat. “I’m sure you can all imagine how scared I was.”
Nash said the little boy then
flexed his “guns” to show he meant business.
Wiegand praised Dominick’s fearless
spirit and said he was a little boy who always wanted to “do it, and do
it fast.”
He said Dominick’s life was short,
but “well invested” as he pointed to the outpouring of grief following
his death.
That outpouring was visible Friday
as a sea of people wearing blue ribbons for child abuse awareness month
and blue hats with Dominick’s name stitched on the front followed his
casket out of the church after the service.
“We should all grow
up like him,”
said Wiegand. “He was a brave little boy.”
 
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