Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

LINCOLN, R.I. -- Melissa Gabriele knows funerals are expensive, and she was worried about how a friend she has known since junior high would pay for her daughter's funeral after the girl died over the weekend.

The friend's daughter -- Skyla J. Reposa-Alves, a seventh-grader at Lincoln Middle School -- had swine flu and was the second Rhode Island child to succumb to the virus within a week. Her funeral is set for Friday, which would have been Skyla's 13th birthday. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Bellows-Falso Funeral Chapel, 160 River Rd., Lincoln.

Gabriele has worked to set up a memorial fund to help defray the family's costs for the funeral, she said. The Lincoln resident attended Lincoln Junior-Senior High School with Reposa-Alves' mother, Carla Alves.

Gabriele asks people to contribute to the Skyla J. Reposa-Alves Memorial Fund at the Pawtucket Credit Union, 571 Smithfield Ave., Pawtucket, RI 02860.

Read The Providence Journal's latest news about the flu situation here.

 Tags  health Lincoln RI Pawtucket Credit Union Skyla J. Reposa-Alves swine flu

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.