It was 2001 when all three siblings — Annette, Cindy and Samuel — married their partners.
“That one summer, all our family did was go to weddings,” Samuel Pack, 56, recalled earlier this week in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.
Annette met her husband, Chad Smith, at a Christian university, while Cindy met hers, Sam Arlia, at church. Their marriages, rooted in faith, have spanned 25 years and the births of seven children.
“They were very devoted to their churches, their ministries,” Pack said. “Their lives were very much about sharing … the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
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Time has scattered the siblings across the country; Smith in Colorado, Arlia in New Jersey and Pack in Georgia. But on Feb. 5, brothers-in-law Smith and Arlia got together for a business trip in Dallas, doing audio-video installations for a local company.
The pair finished their workday about 6 p.m. that Thursday, Pack said, and headed down the sidewalk toward the intersection of Frankford and Coit roads. They were waiting to cross the street, tools and gear still in hand, when two vehicles collided.
One veered off the road, hitting them both
Four people, including the two drivers, were taken to the hospital, where Smith, 49, and Arlia, 45, later died of their injuries. Both drivers survived.
The investigation is ongoing, and it remains unclear if Dallas police will pursue criminal charges for the crash.
“It was like a nightmare,” Pack said. “It was like it wasn’t real, you know? This isn’t happening.”
Pack remembers Arlia as a quiet guy with a knack for technology, whether it was 3D printing or growing vegetables in hydroponic systems. Another niche space, he once worked for a company that manufactures geodesic domes.
“He supported everyone with genuine care and steadiness, always calm, always kind, and he made people feel looked after,” read a statement from the company Ekodome. “He mattered here.”
Smith, on the other hand, was all about music, especially worship music, Pack said. He was deft at piano and guitar, a passion he passed on to one of his daughters.
On Facebook, his sister, Amy Smith Bambera, said her brother was constantly writing, whether it was poetry about cookies, love songs for his wife or “melodies of praise for the King.”
“He taught his son how to fix things, how to take care of those in your care, how to be a man,” she continued. “He taught his daughters how to be valued, how to find their value in Christ, how to be unique and confident in God’s perfect plan for their individual lives.”
“He taught us all what it looks like to see the person beside you and deeply care about them, their struggles, their future, and their eternal destination.”
Pack, like the rest of his family, is a devout Christian. He believes in heaven. And he believes regardless of how the people he loves may die, whether from old age, illness, or in this case, an accident, they will spend that eternity together.
As Pack has visited his sisters, he’s found their collective faith has brought them a similar peace.
“It’s not the end,” Pack said. “It’s not a goodbye.”