Lynn employer to cover Salim Fort burial costs

LYNN – The Lynn employer of drowning victim Salim Fort’s parents on Friday announced he would pay for the boy’s casket and cemetery plot.Michael Phelps, a funeral director at the Solimine Landergan and Richardson Funeral Home, said local businessman Richard Bane, owner of the Abbott House Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center in Lynn, the Devereux House Nursing Home in Marblehead and other North Shore healthcare facilities, has offered to pay for the expenses not already donated by the Solimine family.Earlier this week, David Solimine Sr. announced he would cover the cost of the funeral service with the exception of the casket and cemetery plot.”Richard Bane is the employer of both parents. They work at different facilities, but it’s for the same company,” said Phelps. “It was a very generous offer.”The casket and cemetery plot cost approximately $5,000 to $6,000, according to Solimine.Fort, 15, drowned Tuesday while swimming with friends in Breeds Pond.He lived at 11 Nelson St. with his parents, Astrel K. Fort and Cynthia (Vonleh) Fort, and two brothers.On Thursday, X-Treme Silkscreen & Design, a Lynn business, created a T-shirt with Fort’s picture on the front and gave three dozen to the principal at Classical High where the boy was a freshman. The T-shirts sold for $10 each and were gone within minutes. Since then, hundreds more have been printed by X-Treme to benefit the Fort family.”The principal said he can’t keep them in stock. They’re just flying out of the place,” Phelps said. “I can’t begin to tell you how many people have come by to offer donations. The phone calls have been non-stop. The people of this city never cease to amaze me.”The funeral and burial are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 7, in order to give relatives from Liberia and Haiti opportunity to travel.