Ozola Eichelberger lost a child in the tornadoes that ravaged Louisville.

At age 96, she's the mother of 14, and Ruth Bennett was the first of her children that has died during her lifetime. Bennett, 53, died in the ruins of her own Ruth's Childcare Center, protecting Ashtyn Mitchell, 4, as the daycare center was reduced to basically kindling around them.

In the place where Bennett's childcare center was, now there are bricks and boards that have been dug through by recovery workers, and some piles of toys and books. Leaning up against one pile is a yellow sign that says, "Caution: Kid Zone." Except for those things, it's inconceivable that anyone could have lived through the EF-4 tornado that leveled the building. But thanks to Bennett, Ashtyn did.

On Mother's Day, hundreds of people filled the seats at the Louisville High School gymnasium to honor Bennett and the nine other Louisville residents that were killed in the storms of April 28.

"It lifts you up and feels good to know so many people cared about her," Eichelberger said. "I have said that this is a sad, sweet day."

At the service, Eichelberger, held up by a walker and surrounded by family, embodied a courage and calm almost surreal considering the personal storm she had been through.

"You have to ask God for strength, and you get it through prayers, and the kind words of others," she said. "And you know that God is there, He makes no mistakes, and He knows what He's doing."

During the service, family members of each life lost in the storms came to the front where they were given a copy of the resolution passed by the Mississippi Legislature memorializing each of the victims, and a rose in a vase to commemorate their lives.

Louisville Mayor Will Hill said the same supernatural calm had buoyed him in the two weeks since the storms hit his town. Seeing his hometown so greatly affected by situations outside of his control was hard, he said, but he also attributed his stability to a higher power.

He described pulling trees out of the street to get through, almost in disbelief of the devastation.

"It was the prayer in that first hour," he said. "My weakest moment was in the first half hour."

Louisville Alderwoman Judy McLeod is no stranger to loss herself, having lost her husband and both sons through her own life. It was for that reason that she stepped forward to help organize the memorial. As she handed a rose to the family of each of the tornado victims, she, too, seemed to stand strong for her town and her people.

"This was very difficult, but when something like this happens, if you just hold on to the hand of God, you'll make it," she said. "It's not about overcoming it. It's about dealing with it and not getting a hard heart."

In the audience were community members, volunteers from various emergency relief organizations, family members and friends of the victims, and media, but lining the back wall of the auditorium were law enforcement officers from agencies all around the state.

District 18 Senator Giles Ward pointed out the first responders, thanking them for their service. Then he pointed out that, like Bennett, there had been so many ordinary citizens that had stepped up to help during the storms and during the recovery.

"Since 4:30, Monday April 28, this community has been going nonstop. There are those who have performed in heroic manner, and I couldn't begin to touch on them all," he said.

"Most people will tell you that the longer you've been in a job, the easier it gets," said Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Robert Latham. "I wish I could tell you that about this job."

He read the group a letter from Governor Phil Bryant and First Lady Deborah Bryant, who rode out the storm in the Louisville Courthouse.

"For many of you, your lives and your memories will now be divided: Before the storm and after the storm," Bryant wrote. "While I cannot know exactly how that feels, I can earnestly join my heart to yours and assure you that we will be there with you every step of the way."

Latham detailed how he has worked 15 presidentially-declared disasters in his years with MEMA, and that communities always find a way to rally and rebuild, growing in the places they were broken.

"Regardless of how bad it looks right now, of the lives that were lost, the friends that were lost, and relatives, the homes that were lost, and businesses that were lost," Latham said, "I can tell you right now without a doubt that Louisville will come back stronger."

United States Congressman Gregg Harper spoke to the group as well, reminding them that Louisville is now more of a family than a community, and that while the assistance would never bring back the people and possessions lost, that Louisville will rebuild.

"We all love each other and will help each other," he said. "Let's remember what we have now, and when the storm has passed, let's not give this up."

To contact Therese Apel, call (601) 961-7236 or email Follow @TRex21 on Twitter.

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