Katrina's Lives Lost:	Dorothy Hingle, 1922-2005, 
			Russell Embry, 1951-2005
Submitted By: 		N.O.V.A November 2005
Source:			Times Picayune 10-20-2005

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Dorothy Hingle, 83, was "old St. Bernard," the matriarch of a sprawling
family of shrimpers and fishers with deep roots in the parish. She counted
15 grandchildren, 41 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren
among her relations.

But her 54-year-old son, Russell Embry, occupied most of her time. A 1974
accident left him severely brain damaged and almost completely paralyzed.
After he'd spent nine months in the hospital, Dorothy brought her son home
to Chalmette, to the house on Rosetta Drive that she and her late husband
built in 1965, as Hurricane Betsy raged.

For the next three decades, Dorothy served as Russell's primary caregiver.
She cooked him healthy, balanced meals; fried oyster and roast beef
sandwiches from Johnny & Joyce's on Paris Road were an occasional treat.

Eventually Russell learned to feed himself, wash his face and sign his name
with his left hand. His speech was limited and difficult to understand. But
he'd help out in little ways -- opening jars, holding the corner of clothes
as his mother folded them.

He passed the hours watching sports on TV and listening to music. His
favorites dated to before his accident: The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Grand
Funk Railroad. He'd circle new CDs in magazines, which his three sisters
would then buy for him.

Only reluctantly would Dorothy leave Russell in the care of others, even
for quick trips to the grocery. He was big -- 6-foot-4, 250 pounds -- and
could not sit up in a wheelchair. An ambulance crew was needed to move him,
so he only left his bedroom for doctor visits, and to evacuate for
hurricanes. Pastors from Covenant United Methodist Church even brought
communion to the house.

Widowed in 1992, Dorothy had slowed down in recent years, as arthritis took
a toll. She finally gave up driving, and hired attendants to bathe Russell
and clean the house. But her complete devotion to her son never wavered.

"Every night they would pray together, and he would rub her hand and look
up at her and say, 'Thank you,' " said Betty LeBlanc, Russell's youngest
sister. "He knew how devoted his mother was to him. And he knew she was
aging. He knew she wouldn't be able to take care of him much longer."

As Katrina approached, Dorothy made arrangements for an ambulance to
evacuate her and her son, just as she had for past storms. The rest of the
family fled, as Dorothy assured them that she and Russell would be fine.

Hazel Cooley, Dorothy's middle daughter, last spoke to her mother on the
morning of Aug. 29, hours before the floodwaters devastated Chalmette.
"When Mother said, 'They're coming to get us any minute now,' I thought she
meant the ambulance," Hazel said. "Ididn't know she meant God's
messengers."

When no further word came from Dorothy and Russell, the family supplied DNA
samples and searched online databases, hoping they had evacuated at the
last moment.

Three weeks after Katrina, searchers found their bodies. They lay in
Russell's bed, Dorothy's arm draped over her son. The ambulance had never
come.

So they died as they lived for the past 31 years together.