Katrina Victim, a Symbol in Death, Buried
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN, Associated Press Writer
Wed Nov 16, 3:58 PM ET
NEW ORLEANS - In death, Ethel Freeman became an anonymous symbol of the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina: The 91-year-old woman's body, covered by a poncho and slumped in a wheelchair, lay outside the convention center for days. More than two months after her death, Freeman's relatives and friends gathered at a funeral home Wednesday to celebrate her life. Her son, Herbert Freeman, Jr., who watched over his mother's body for nearly four days before he was ordered onto a bus, returned from his new home in Birmingham, Ala., for the funeral. Freeman recalled praying at his mother's side before she died on Sept. 1. About 30 hours earlier, they escaped rising floodwaters in a neighbor's boat and arrived at the Convention Center, where thousands had no food, water or medical care.
"She was calling out for a doctor or a nurse, but there was nothing there," he said.
asteroids #2032-ETHEL, #1363-HERBERTA & #4159-FREEMAN.
