Mother, Daughters Remembered After Tragic Fire

TUCKER, GA -- A woman and her two daughters killed in a Tucker house fire last week were remembered fondly Monday afternoon at a joint funeral ceremony.

“There were no happier people in life than Kathy, Kayla and Madelyn,” said Brent Patterson, the husband and father of the victims, according to a report in the Gwinnett Daily Post. “They never met anyone who wasn’t a friend.”

Patterson was injured escaping the February 9 blaze, then unable to get back into his burning home when he realized his wife and daughters, ages 12 and 9, hadn’t gotten out themselves, fire officials have said.

The fire, on the 1000 block of Pointer Ridge in unincorporated Tucker, remains under investigation but is not considered suspicious. Fire officials say it started in an area where there is an electric-powered reclining sofa, a fireplace and two lamps.

Patterson said he met his wife, Kathy, when she applied for a job at Italian Oven, his restaurant in Peachtree City.

“It was love at first sight,” he said, according to the paper.

Friends and family members remembered the Pattersons as a made-for-each-other couple and their daughters as happy, enthusiastic girls who gave great hugs.

The funeral was held at Tucker First United Methodist, where the family were active members.

To read the full report from the Daily Post, click here.