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Mother must deal with tragedy twice
By LINDA GIBSON
© St. Petersburg Times, TAMPA -- On Saturday, Rosita Graham will bury two of her three children. Her son, Dean Graham, 45, and her daughter Sabrina Warren, 42, died unexpectedly in the space of five days. "It's just a shock," Rosita Graham said Thursday. "I thought my children would outlive me." Graham died Aug. 24 of a heart attack. His family knew of no history of heart trouble, said his sister, Twanda Jonesia. A lifelong Tampa resident, Dean Graham graduated from Robinson High School. He would stop by his mother's house every Sunday morning with a newspaper for her, she said. He also enjoyed taking Jonesia's two children to the movies. Graham was a parking attendant. When he didn't show up for work last Friday, co-workers knew something was wrong. He never missed work, Jonesia said. The co-workers called Graham's mother. He was found dead in his house. The family made arrangements for the funeral. Sympathy cards arrived and filled a table in Rosita Graham's living room, which was crowded with family photographs. Then came the second shock. Sabrina had been bitten by a spider about three weeks ago. Rosita Graham had insisted on taking her to Tampa General Hospital after the bite failed to heal. Sabrina had resisted. She was afraid of doctors, her mother said, and already had endured three operations on her knee during the past year for an unrelated illness. The infection from the bite kept worsening, and doctors operated. Sabrina died at the hospital Wednesday. The family called the funeral home again. The three-page notice of Dean and Sabrina's homegoing, prepared by the family, includes a picture of Dean graduating from kindergarten. There's also a picture of Sabrina, who graduated from Leto High School, dressed for a prom. Services for the two are to start at 11 a.m. Saturday at Pilgrim Rest Missionary Baptist Church, 4202 W Nassau St.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times |
