Brother and Sister Lost Five Days Apart: Michigan Family to Bury Both Children in One Funeral

A family that was preparing to bury their 12-year-old son is now preparing to bury both of their children on the same day.

Five days after Calvin Shepard was killed when he and his sister were struck while riding their bicycles, 13-year-old Karalee has also died from complications of the crash. Her family said she passed away peacefully this afternoon, surrounded by the people who loved her.

On Monday, her mother, Raquel, had one plea: “Please don’t stop praying. She’s not out of the woods yet.” Many people did pray — for her brain, for her body, for the doctors trying to save her, and for two parents grieving one child while begging not to lose another.

Today came the update no one wanted.

“Our hearts are broken beyond what we can put into words,” the Shepard family shared.

Karalee and Calvin were brother and sister. They went out riding their bikes together. Within five days, their parents, Cody and Raquel, lost them both.

The family said they find comfort in believing Karalee and Calvin are together again and “in the loving arms of our Savior.”

They had originally planned Calvin’s funeral for Saturday. After losing Karalee as well, their parents said they could not bear saying goodbye twice. There will now be one funeral, together, on Tuesday at 10 a.m. in East Lansing, Michigan.

Source: Public statements shared by the Shepard family regarding the deaths of Calvin and Karalee Shepard.