GRIFFIN, Ga. — One year ago, Peterson's Funeral Home looked a lot different.
There was a tree lodged in its roof after two tornadoes ripped through Griffin, toppling trees all through town. The staff inside working Jan. 12, 2023 went home lucky to be alive.
"This humongous tree came in the building," LaDamiun Raines said at the time.
"My mind was just blank," Wayne Peterson said.
"Seems like everything's just gone," Sha-Meeka Peterson Smith said.
Sometimes, nightmares turn into dreams. One year after the storm, Peterson's is open again, in a new building.
"She always told us, 'You know, y'all deserve bigger and better,'" Raines said.
'She' was Elaine Watkins. Her family went to Peterson's any time they needed to say goodbye to a loved one.
"We buried her mom. We buried her brother and we buried a sister of hers," Raines said.
So, when Watkins passed, Peterson's took care of her, too. The night before her funeral, during her viewing, is when the tree hit the building.
"Water never touched her. But after we moved her casket, the water fell into the building," Raines recalled.
They held Watkins' funeral the next day. It was the beginning of a series of partnerships. Other funeral homes allowed them to use their facilities so they could keep running their business.
Friday, on another stormy day, Peterson's reopened.
"Today, just seeing that ribbon being cut, was just a lot of relief," Raines said.
It's a new beginning in both bigger and better. Raines says he doesn't think they'd be here if it weren't for Elaine Watkins.
"It's maybe why the weather's like it is. Because she's probably up there just dancing, and going on in heaven because she's excited that we have accomplished everything that she actually prophesied for us," Raines said.