Updated 10:31 am, Saturday, December 22, 2012
Today is the final day of funeral service for victims of the Newtown school massacre.
Three funerals -- two in Connecticut and one in Utah -- will conclude the services of the 20 students and six school staff members. As nearly everyone knows by now, they were gunned down on Friday, Dec. 14 in Sandy Hook Elementary School by Adam Lanza. The funerals that began Monday attracted thousands of mourners.
The first today is for Ana Grace Márquez-Greene. It began with calling hours from 10 a.m. to noon followed by a funeral service at the First Cathedral at 1151 Blue Hills Ave. in Bloomfield. Burial will be private.
Ana's love for singing was evident before she was even able to talk. In a musical family, her gift for melody, pitch, and rhythm stood out remarkably. She never walked anywhere! Her mode of transportation was dance. She danced from room to room and place to place. She danced to all the music she heard, whether in the air or in her head. Ana loved her God, loved to read The Bible, and loved to sing and dance as acts of worship. We ask that you pray for the legions of people who are left behind to cherish memories of her. Ana is survived by her father, Jimmy Greene, a jazz saxophonist and an assistant professor of music at Western Connecticut State University; her mother, Nelba Márquez-Greene, program coordinator for the Family Therapy Institute at Klingberg Family Centers.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated for Josephine Gay at 11 a.m. at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown Burial will be at a later date and will be private. Josephine Gay turned 7 on Tuesday, Dec. 11, three days before the shootings.
In a statement Friday, Josephine's family released a statement. "Although our family is devastated, we are deeply comforted in the knowledge that she is no longer scared or hurting and rests in the arms of our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is through His sufficient grace that we are able to get through this. Our innocent, trusting little girl stared into the face of unimaginable evil and overcame it in Christ. She was not alone in her courage," the family stated.
"Our small, close-knit community acted instantly. First responders from our town and those surrounding quickly removed surviving children and staff members from the scene. Connecticut state troopers have tended to our families around the clock, surrounding us with protection and compassion. Neighbors, religious communities, townspeople, and professionals are providing the care and love that we are so in need of now. We see this movement grow daily with acts of love and kindness pouring in from around the country and the world. We see how evil is defeated."
Emilie Parker's funeral is scheduled for Saturday in Ogden, Utah, where her family lived before they moved to Newtown earlier this year, according to the Standard-Examiner. The service will be held at 10 a.m. at the Rock Cliff LDS Stake Center. The viewing took place Friday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Myers Mortuary in Ogden.
Nearly 1,000 people attended a community vigil Thursday night in Ogden, Utah in memory of 6-year-old Emilie. The Parker family said they wanted to hold the vigil to say thank you for all the community support.
Emilie's dad, Robert, was one of the first family members to speak, not long after police released the names and ages of the victims last Saturday.
"She was beautiful. She was blond. She was always smiling," he said of Emilie. Parker said his daughter loved to try new things -- except for new food. And she was quick to cheer up those in need. "She never missed an opportunity to draw a picture or make a card for those she around her," he said.
The world is a better place because Emilie was in it, he said. "I'm so blessed to be her dad," he said.
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