Father's eulogy to slain children: 'I love you, my friend'

The casket of one of five Yates children is carried from the church

CLEAR LAKE, Texas (CNN) -- With prayer, pictures, song and heartbreaking remembrances by their father, five children who police said were slain at the hands of their mother were mourned at a funeral Wednesday.

The service, which was closed to the media, lasted about an hour. When it ended, five flower-draped white caskets were loaded into five black hearses for a trip to a cemetery where the siblings were laid to rest.

"I wanted to say how thankful I am that I took the time to know them," Russell Yates said. "Every minute I had, I spent with the kids. We did so much together. They were my friends."

As Yates delivered a eulogy for his children -- four sons and one daughter, ages 6 months to 7 years -- pictures of the children appeared on a projector screen.

Noah, 7, he said, according to those inside the church, was "the independent first-born;" 5-year-old John had a "contagious smile;" Paul, 3, was the "perfect child;" 2-year-old Luke was fearless, affectionately called the "bulldozer;" and Mary, the only daughter and baby at 6 months, rendered her family "stunned" and overjoyed with the addition of a girl.

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Yates spoke of moments as ordinary as toilet training and as precious as ball games with his sons. In an emotional moment, he tucked a baby blanket into each casket.

"I love you, my friend. I will miss you, my friend," he said before closing each casket.

He stood stoically and silent, watching as the caskets were escorted out of the Clear Lake Church of Christ. The 550-seat church was packed with mourners, and quiet sobs could be heard throughout the service.

Their mother, Andrea Yates, remains in jail, charged with drowning Noah, Paul, John, Luke and Mary in a bathtub of the family's suburban Houston home.

Wearing a dark suit and carrying a folder that presumably held remarks about his children, Yates arrived at the church with members of his family. Andrea Yates' mother also attended the funeral, along with an estimated 500 people.

When Yates left the house last Wednesday morning, he was already looking forward to seeing the kids after work. His last moments with the children are still frames in time he said he will never forget. "I hugged and kissed everybody goodbye before I went to work that day, and that's how I want to remember them," he said.

The Rev. Byron Fike, who presided over the service, said Russell Yates' strong religious beliefs seemed to be helping him cope. Before the service, which lasted about 75 minutes, Fike tried to shed some positive light on the tragedy.

"What is the good in this? We don't know," he said. But he added, "God will use this to bring about good."

The Yates boys are shown in a family photo. From left, are Luke, Paul, John and Noah. The youngest child, Mary, is shown in bottom photo

Fike said he hoped the killings would educate others about the dangers of depression.

The children's mother, Andrea, was being treated for postpartum depression before the killings. She is charged with five counts of capital murder in the deaths of the children. All were found drowned in their home on June 20.

Neighbors and friends described the Yates' children as lively, gentle, and bright -- everyone seemed to notice their smiles. Neighbor Terry Arnold said she adored the Yates children. She works at a home schooling bookstore that Andrea Yates often visited with her children. Arnold said the Yates children lit up the store when they walked in.

"I would stop what I was doing and play with the children because they were just so pleasant," Arnold said. "We referred them as our favorite customers. We'd see them pull up and we'd say, 'Hey, they're here!' So it was -- it was fun. We looked forward to seeing them."