Sean Lyerly laid to rest

Before he died aboard a Black Hawk helicopter in Iraq, Army Capt. Sean Lyerly of Pflugerville was trying to grow grass.

He loved plants and had studied horticulture at Texas A&M. But the patch of grass he wanted to grow outside his quarters refused. Lyerly tried protecting the grass with a screen; when Iraq's winds blew it down, he anchored the screen with rocks. He would not give up on that grass, said Lorie Hanna, quoting a message from her husband, Christopher Hanna, Lyerly's roommate in Iraq.

Speaking Monday at Lyerly's funeral in Pflugerville, Lorie Hanna said her husband found something unexpected shortly after Lyerly's death:

"I found little strips of grass," Christopher Hanna wrote, in keeping with the day's theme that Lyerly left a legacy that would continue growing, "and I was thrilled."

Lyerly, 31, a Texas Army National Guardsman stationed at Camp Mabry, was deployed to Iraq in August. He was aboard the Black Hawk helicopter that crashed in Baghdad on Jan. 20, killing all 12 soldiers aboard, nine of them National Guardsmen from various states. It was among the largest number of National Guard members killed in a single mission since the Korean War.

On Monday, after a funeral at Pflugerville's St. Elizabeth Catholic Church, Lyerly was laid to rest at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery. The two ceremonies drew Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, as well as more than 500 onlookers, many of them uniformed service members.

Lyerly left behind his wife, 24-year-old Csilla, 3-year-old son Zackary, brother George Lyerly Jr., and parents George Lyerly and Deborah Russo-Blakeman. The family did not speak at the service and declined to be interviewed Monday.

Bishop Gregory Aymond, head of the Diocese of Austin, said in a eulogy that Lyerly flew relief missions in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

"He loved flying," Aymond said, "but he loved flying best when he could help someone else."

McCaul and Aymond said Zackary's life will be proof that Lyerly's legacy will continue growing. At the service, Lorie Hanna said her husband had noticed that the grass Lyerly planted has continued growing.

" 'Please,' " Lorie Hanna said, quoting from her husband's message, " 'tell Sean thanks for the grass. It meant the world to me.' "

From the Statesman

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