Mourners Pack South Side Church for Jonylah Watkins Funeral
The funeral for 6 month-old Jonylah Watkins was held this morning at New Beginnings Church on South King Drive on Chicago’s South Side.
The church was packed with mourners, paying their respects to a life taken far too soon.
Watkins and her father were shot by an unknown assailant as they sat in a parked car on the 6500 block of South Maryland.
Ushers struggled to find seats for the funeral of a little girl whose shooting death horrified a city long accustomed to senseless killings.
Inside the church, visitors could see Jonylah’s tiny open casket — with the little girl dressed in pink. A stuffed pink bunny lay beside her. To the left of the casket, flowers were arranged to spell the word, “Mom,” and to the right, they spelled, “Dad.”
Jonylah’s parents, Jonathan and Judy Watkins, stood near the casket at one point. They wore matching white sweatshirts. On the back of his shirt, it read: “My baby girl, Daddy love you”
Flowers and an assortment of stuffed toys — horses, bears, Sesame Street characters — filled the front of the church.
Rest in Peace, Jonylah