They say Rochelle “Shelly” Burch, 54, of Franklin, whose husband Mitchell Burch serves as pastor at Towne Boulevard Church of God, was an accomplished pianist and singer whose energy spread throughout the church.
“She shined bright for Jesus,” said Lamar Ferrell, pastor of Berachah Church and one of the two police chaplains who notified Mitchell Burch his wife and mother-in-law were killed Wednesday morning in the accident in Indiana. “She was a lady who loved life. A lady who loved ministry. A lady who loved her husband. Jesus was at the center of her life.”
Another Middletown pastor, the Rev. Michael Bailey from Faith United Church, called Burch “just one of God’s angels” whose talents were evident in her ministry.
“She is better off than we are,” Bailey said. “We are left with the pain and suffering that goes with it. Her assignment is completed. As the word says, ‘Absent from the body, present with the Lord.’ So when I think of her, she beat us there.”
Ferrell called Burch’s death “a loss to the community of believers.”
Those in the church community said that’s what they’re holding onto as they try to process the death of Burch and her mother, Linda Dykstra, 77, of Wayland, Mich.., who both died from blunt force trauma, said Huntington County Coroner Philip Zalm.
Burch, driving a PT Cruiser, ran a stop sign on U.S 224 near I-69 just after 11 a.m. Wednesday and her vehicle was hit by a semi after crossing two lanes of traffic, Zalm said.
Dykstra, who was in the front passenger seat, was killed on impact and Burch was extricated from the vehicle, he said. Emergency crews treated Burch for about 30 minutes before she was declared dead, according to the coroner. Both women were wearing seat belts, officials said.
The semi driver, Franklin G. Diamond, 43, of Lancaster, Ohio, was not injured in the accident and was tested for drugs and alcohol and those tests came back negative, Zalm said. Investigators have already ruled the deaths accidental. Zalm said there was no evidence that Burch attempted to brake at the stop sign.
The Burchs have served for seven or eight years at Towne Boulevard and before that at Dayspring Church of God in Forest Park, and churches in West Virginia and Washington State.
When news spread on social media of the mother/daughter double fatality, about 100 members of Towne Boulevard gathered Wednesday night for an impromptu memorial service. Those in the congregation wept as music played throughout the sanctuary.
“We needed to come together and pray. That’s all we have,” said Ben Higgins, youth pastor at the church. “The church has full confidence in God’s goodness in every season of life.”
Mitchell and Shelly Burch have been married for 36 years and have two grown children and four grandchildren, friends said. Their daughter, Megan, is married to a worship minister in Indiana and their son, Andrew, is a part-time minister.
On Mitchell Burch’s Facebook page, he wrote: “My beautiful bride of 36 years met Jesus today face to face… Please pray for my family. Rest in His loving arms sweet love as you Celebrate being home… I’ll see you over on the other side but until then, we will be Embraced by His mercy.”
In a prepared statement issued Thursday night, Burch said he was “deeply grateful for the overwhelming support” from his church, the Middletown community and Southwest Ohio district of the church of God.
Candice Keller, executive director of the Community Pregnancy Center, said Towne Boulevard Church has supported the center for the last 20 years, and during the last seven or eight years, she has become friends with the Burch family. She said the death of Shelly was especially difficult because she was in the “prime of her life” and she was a proud mother and grandmother.
“She was a very positive person,” Keller said. “She gave of herself.”
Another friend, Shelly McRoberts, a member of Towne Boulevard, frequently attended small-group Bible studies at the Burch residence. McRoberts said she was still in shock over the death of Burch and her mother.
“She was a wonderful person who could light up a room,” McRoberts said.
Visitation will be 6-9 p.m. Saturday at the Towne Boulevard Church of God and 3-5 p.m. Sunday at the church, followed by a worship and celebration service in honor of Burch at 5 p.m.
Memorial gifts can be directed through the church at 3722 Towne Blvd., Middletown, OH 45005.
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