A church bell clanged and the sad sounds of "Ave Maria" echoed from speakers outside Our Lady of Victory church, as the Floral Park community mourned the deaths of two sisters just beginning their lives.
"None of this is fair to anyone," one man observed.
A sea of faces, many belonging to young people, watched with tears in their eyes, as the caskets of Jamie and Paige Malone were carried from the church.
"It broke our hearts to lose you," said a family member in church. "The family chain is broken and nothing seems the same."
Jamie, 22 and Paige, 19 were both killed Thursday when the car in which they were passengers went out of control and struck a tree along the Meadowbrook Parkway in Roosevelt.
A third passenger, Michael Mulhall, 22 was also killed. Two others, Michael's sister Justine Mulhall, 20 and Kelly Murphy, 20, survived. Murphy attended the funeral, wearing a neck brace.
The five had been carpooling to their jobs as counselors at Hempstead's Camp Anchor, a day camp for special needs' kids.
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Jamie Malone had worked there as a volunteer and counselor for nine years and Paige, for six years, according to Joe Lentini, the camp supervisor.
"Our staff is completely heartbroken," said Lentini. "They were the most wonderful, bubbly, scrumptious people in the world. We adored them."
Camp Anchor staffers, past and present, lined the street outside church, wearing their camp tee-shirts. Camp Anchor was closed Monday for the Malones' funeral and will closed Tuesday as well for the funeral of Michael Mulhall.
"They grew up here," said camp staffer Mary Ann Hanson. "The kids know each other like brothers and sisters. I can't even tell you the grief everyone is feeling."
In fact, many of the Camp Anchor staffers hail from Floral Park. Before they could drive, the Malone sisters actually waited for the camp bus each morning on the steps of the very church that hosted their funeral, according to Lentini.
Looking around at the young people, Lentini noted, "it's hard at their age. They haven't experienced death and the idea that someone their age could be gone forever is hard to grasp."
As it was for everyone else at the funeral.
State Police are still trying to determine the cause of the car crash. Alcohol has been ruled out.
