Husband’s memorial service scheduled for Saturday
A memorial service was held Friday afternoon for one of two victims who died Monday in a mobile home fire near Clarkesville. Tina Marie Chitwood and her husband A.J. were pulled from the bathroom of their burning single-wide on Waterway Court by firefighters who responded to the scene around 6:18 Monday morning.
READ: Couple killed in mobile home fire near Clarkesville
Habersham County Deputy Coroner Ken Franklin says both were pronounced dead on arrival at Habersham Medical Center.
The couple’s bodies were sent to the state crime lab for autopsies. Franklin says those autopsies were performed Thursday. Officials are now waiting on toxicology reports. No ruling has yet been issued as to the exact cause of their deaths.
A memorial service was held for Tina on Friday in Cornelia. A.J. Chitwood’s memorial service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday, July 23, at the New Vision Worship Center in Baldwin. The family will receive friends at the church beginning at 12:30 p.m. until the service time.
Tina leaves behind two teenaged sons. Family members say her 16-year old lived with the couple but was not at home at the time of the fire.
One firefighter injured his back while pulling the couple through the bathroom window. Franklin says he was taken to the emergency room. Another firefighter was overcome by heat and smoke.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
