Funeral set for little ‘Angel on Earth’ who died after Fort Worth apartment fire
Aaliyah Anderson loved pizza, “long ice cream” otherwise known as Popsicles, and running.
And of course, the 3-year-old loved her parents and her older brothers, 10-year-old Jerome Anderson IV and 7-year-old Xavier Anderson.
Aaliyah also was called, “the purest example of what an Angel on Earth could be.”
On Tuesday morning, her family will hold a funeral for the 3-year-old Fort Worth child, who died on Sept. 23, two days after Fort Worth firefighters pulled her out of her father’s burning apartment in west Fort Worth.
“She was there with her father and two brothers,” said Deborah McNeely of Fort Worth, her grandmother, in a recent interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “One minute, everything is fine. And then there’s a fire.”
McNeely said she wasn’t sure what happened on the afternoon of Sept. 21 in the 9000 block of Brian Way Circle.
Her son, Jerome Anderson, who was in the apartment with the children at the time of the fire, could not be reached for comment on Monday.
“He is in his own world trying to deal with everything,” McNeely said.
Fort Worth fire officials released few details on the blaze.
The one-alarm apartment fire occurred just before 2 p.m. on Sept. 21, according to the Fort Worth Fire Department call log.
While they were responding, firefighters received information there might be a child trapped inside an apartment, fire officials said.
When they arrived, firefighters saw heavy smoke and fire from a two-story apartment.
A search team found the child in a back room, brought her out and immediately began medical care.
Aaliyah lived in the complex and her family’s apartment was damaged in the blaze.
At least one apartment building had damage from the fire, according to a fire official.
Born in Fort Worth, Aailyah was the little sister who was never far away from her brothers, her grandmother said.
“Those three were always together,” McNeely said. “It didn’t matter that her older brother was seven years older, she wanted to be around him, and her other brother too.”
McNeely said Aailyah already knew her colors and numbers.
“Oh, she loved to watch fish in the water,” her grandmother said. “I don’t know what it was about fish, but she could stare at them for hours.”
McNeely said the family remains in shock over her granddaughter’s death.
Jess Davidson, who established a GoFundMe account to help Aailyah’s family, wrote this about the child:
“When you have a child, the second you hear their heartbeat, you know yours isn’t beating for itself anymore,” Davidson said. “You don’t wake up thinking that day will be the last day your heart beats.”
Friends and family have established a GoFundMe account for Aaliyah’s family to help with the cost of the funeral and other expenses during their hardship. As of Monday, family and friends had raised more than $6,500.
Aailyah’s family donated her organs, and her family said she was able to help four “special souls.”
Aaliyah’s funeral is at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Burleson Church of Christ, 1150 NW John Jobes Drive in Burleson.
