(NECN: Eileen Curran) – Some Massachusetts residents are making a very somber anniversary on this Friday. It was one year ago today that tornadoes touched down in the western and central parts of the state, killing three people.
Before the tornado came to Main Street in Springfield, it tore through West Springfield, flattening homes, uprooting trees and, sadly, killing two people in that community. One of them was a young Russian man.
Even though a year has passed, the grief is still very deep for his family.
You may not understand his mother’s words, but you can’t miss her grief.
She says her 23-year-old son is always in her heart.
A tornado sent a huge tree crashing down on her son’s car, and time has not eased her pain.
“How can it be easier if he is not here,” she says with tears running down her face. “I miss him a great deal.”
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The family says the 23-year-old was the life of any party and always willing to help another, no matter how tired or busy he might be.
“It hasn’t been easy,” says Oleg Stubak. “I feel like I kind of need to step into his role a bit. In a way maybe, I’m kind of filling in for him, but I know I’ll never be him.”
The family finds comfort in their memories and knows they must keep those memories alive for the youngest child, who was just two years old when his big brother died.
The mother says she has been able to go on because of her other children and her faith in God.
Family says the youngest brother does have memories of his older brother. When they take him to the cemetery, he asks questions like, “where is he?” and “why did this happen to him?”
The family has no answer for that last question.
