‘They are as close to holy and pure joy and love as you could be’: Parents of boys who died after Clifton house fire remember their sons

CLIFTON, Va. ( DC News Now ) — William and Zachariah Brice were as close as siblings could be and loving to all who met them, their parents said.

“They are as close to holy and pure joy and love as you can be,” said Jamey Brice, their father. “They are always smiling, always laughing, always excited to see you. Always wanting to do their best.”

Jamey and Reina Brice sat down with DC News Now on Tuesday to talk about the deaths of their two youngest sons, William, 6, and Zachariah, 3. They passed away days after a fire on April 10 that swept through their Clifton home.

Both parents said that William was super athletic and played numerous sports, including flag football. They said he had dreams of playing in the NFL when he grew up. Zachariah wanted to do everything his brother did and followed closely in his footsteps, they said.

“William was always so witty and but kind. He never met a stranger,” Reina said of her son. “Zechariah was a force to be reckoned with. But, (he) was also very sweet and affectionate.”

Jamey and Reina said that they have been leaning on God to move through this tragedy and deal with the agony of losing the two sons they had together. Both parents brought one child each — Seth, 13, and Logan, 8 — into the marriage.

The parents said that firefighters had a hard time finding the boys during the fire because of all the smoke but when they did, William was on top of Zachariah in a protective posture.

“We weren’t surprised that that’s how they found them, because we know how much William loves Zach and we had a feeling that they were found together just based on the events and how we knew their personalities to be,” Reina said of her children. “So it was really just a confirmation of (the) gratefulness that they weren’t alone, that they were together.”

“That’s just William’s character. He never would have abandoned his brother,” she added.

Jamey fondly recalled a memory from two years ago when Zachariah greeted his brother at the bus stop returning from school for the first time. Both brothers hugged each other in a moment he shared on his Facebook page.

“I’m just grateful that I got to be their parent for this short period of time,” he said. “But I know they came from God.”

Reina said that their sons “were fun. They were loving. They were energetic. And they were just a joy and a ray of sunshine.”

Those are the memories that will last for the rest of their lives, she said.

“We just want them to be remembered for, you know, like not for the tragedy but for what they showed us every day and how to live life to the fullest,” Reina said.

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