HUNTINGTON — Dale Ray Black, who died trying to reach six trapped miners in Crandall Canyon Mine, was remembered for his lively personality at his funeral Tuesday.
Wife Wendy Black, son Corey Black and daughter Ashley Pruitt held on to each other at Huntington City Cemetery as the Rev. Carl Sitterud prayed for the other two rescuers who died Thursday — Brandon Kimber and Gary Jensen — and the family members of the six.
"We lift them up to you, Lord, and ask that you comfort them," the Rev. Sitterud said.
The three men were killed when a "bump" in the mine released coal on them. They were part of a team trying to rescue Kerry Allred, Don Erickson, Luis Hernandez, Carlos Payan, Brandon Phillips and Manuel Sanchez, who became trapped and haven't been found since an Aug. 6 bump that registered 3.9 on the Richter scale..
At least 500 people attended the Tuesday morning funeral in Little Bear Creek Campground in Huntington Canyon, just a few miles from the mine.
A handful of his friends and family, including son Corey, shot arrows into the hills. It's the season of archery, a sport 48-year-old Black loved.
People laughed as much as they cried as they remembered Black, frequently recalling how they responded to him by saying, "That's Dale being Dale."
"It is so awesome to look out there and see our friends," said Allen Childs, Black's former boss at the mine and family friend. " ... Today we're not meeting in a chapel. We're not meeting in a building, but we're meeting here in a campground that's outdoors and it's a place that's very appropriate for our friend."
Black enjoyed golfing, camping, boating riding an ATV that was on display at the funeral, fishing and cold beer.
Daughter Ashley Pruitt said his enthusiasm for life prevented him from sleeping in on weekends or finishing a job without going 100 percent.
"I have done more with my dad in the past 23 years than most people get to do in a lifetime," she said.
"Life is too short to be mad at people," the daughter added. "This is something I've heard countless of times in my life. Please take this lesson from my dad."
Dale and Wendy Black fell in love when she was 15.
"When we think of Dale Ray Black, images of unselfishness and ultimately the highest price of all, a sacrifice of life, was given to save his friends," said the Rev. Sitterud, Black's brother-in-law. "And the last action of Dale Ray Black's life earned him a new name, a name of hero."
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com