Paul Simon sang at the funeral for Sandy Hook Elementary heroine teacher Victoria Soto, 27, in CT today as she was laid to rest.
The teacher who shielded her students from the gunman's bullets and saved their lives, while loosing hers. Simon performed "The Sound of Silence," one of Soto's favorite songs.
As her body lay in a wooden casket covered with white flowers, her sister Jillian broke down as she eulogized the teacher.
“Over the past five days, people have been thinking of you as a hero, many hoping that they could do the things that you have done to touch the lives of so many,” she said. “Truthfully, you have been a hero to me for a lot longer than five days.”
Victori'as hearse passed under the American Flag held up by fire trucks on the way to the cemetery.
Funerals for four more angels from Sandy Hook Elementary School students followed, along with a wake for the school’s beloved principal Dawn Hochsprung.
Daniel Barden, 7, was a smiling, soccer-loving son whose unfailing sweetness made his death so much harder for his parents to bear.
Before the service, little gold angel pins were passed out to remember him by. Near his ivory-colored casket were photos of the slain boy with his siblings James and Natalie.
“How could this happen?” Pastor Robert Weiss asked, posing a question all of America has been asking since the senseless slaughter. “It was just like any other day. A child goes to school and you expect them to be safe — then in a matter of moments, life changes forever. There's no answer.”
Daniel Barden's funeral mass was followed by another angel's at the church for Caroline Previdi, age 6.
“Caroline was out little dancer,” her mother, Sandy, told the gathering. “She loved to dance and sing. She brought such joy to those around her. It didn't matter where she was.”
Caroline’s big brother, Walker, read the final line of family’s letter to the lost little girl. “We will always remember our angel,” he read. “She is now in heaven with the Lord and her Savior, and all of her friends.”
Not far away, at King Lutheran Church, mourners gathered for the funeral service of Charlotte Helen Bacon, a 6-year-old with curly red hair who loved the color pink.
Over at Trinity Episcopal Church, the funeral of 6-year-old Benjamin Wheeler, who loved riding the subway when his family lived in Sunnyside, Queens was remembered and laid to rest.
Hochsprung, the 47-year-old principal, died while lunging at Lanza in a heroic but doomed attempt to stop him from rampaging through her school. Her wake was held in Woodbury, CT, where she lived, at the Munson-Lovetere Funeral Home tonight.
Story and some of the images courtesy of the
NY Daily News.
Here are the rest of the angels set to be laid to rest this week and their memorial information:
Catherine Violet Hubbard, 6, Funeral Mass is scheduled for Thursday, December 20th at 10 am at St. Rose of Lima Church at 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown, CT. In lieu of flowers the family is requesting donations be made to the Newtown Animal Center, PO Box 475, Newtown, CT 06470. The Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown is in care of arrangements.
HERO/principal, Dawn Lafferty Hochsprung, 47, will be laid to rest privately on Thursday. To place an online condolence, please visit
www.munsonloveterefuneralhome.com.
Benjamin Andrew Wheeler, 6, funeral will be held at the Trinity Episcopal Church, 36 Main St., Newtown on Thursday, December 20th at 11:00 AM. Burial will be private. The B.C. Bailey Funeral Home of Wallingford has been entrusted with the arrangements. To leave a message of remembrance, please visit
www.BCBailey.com. It is suggested that contributions in Benjamin's memory be made to the Benjamin Wheeler Fund.
The family of Anne Marie Murphy, 52, will receive friends at Clark Associates Funeral Home (
www.clarkassociatesfuneralhome.com) 4 Woods Bridge Rd, Katonah, NY, on Wednesday, Dec. 19 from 4:00 to 8:00 pm. The Mass of Christian Burial will be held 10:00 am Thursday, Dec. 20 at St. Mary Of The Assumption R.C. Church, 117 Valley Road, Katonah, NY. Burial will follow at St. Joseph's Cemetery, Somers. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Autism Speaks, 1060 State Rd., 2nd Floor, Princeton, NJ 08540,
www.autismspeaks.org.
Friends of Mary J. Greene Sherlach, 56, may greet the family on Thursday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. in The Abriola Parkview Funeral Home, 419 White Plains Road, Trumbull. Friends are then invited to meet directly in St. Stephen Church, 6948 Main St., Trumbull on Friday, December 21, 2012 at 11:00 a.m. for a Memorial Mass. Committal will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Fairfield County Community Foundation, Fund for Health and Wellness, 383 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06851 to continue her work with children and mental health. To light a virtual candle, visit us at
www.abriola.com.
Lauren Rousseau, 30, family, friends and coworkers are invited to calling hours Thursday at 10 a.m. in First Congregational Church, 164 Deer Hill Ave., Danbury, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m.
Jessie McCord Lewis, 6, will be remembered Thursday. Friends may call at the Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown Thursday morning from 9:00am to 12:00 noon. All other services and interment in Zoar Cemetery, Sandy Hook are private. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to: Voice for Joanie Inc., 5 Glenwood Rd, New Milford, CT 06776
www.voiceforjoanie.org.
Olivia Engel, 6, family will hold a wake is being held this Thursday, December 20, from 4 - 7 p.m. at Honan Funeral Home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, CT with her funeral Mass occurring Friday December 21, at 1 p.m. at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church at 46 Church Hill Road, Newtown CT. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Olivia's honor can be directed to the Newtown Park and Bark.
Grace Audrey McDonnell, 7, family and friends may call on Thursday, December 20, 2012 from 2-5 p.m. at the St. Rose of Lima Church, 46 Church Hill Rd., Newtown. A Memorial Mass will be celebrated on Friday, December 21, 2012 at 11 a.m. in St. Rose of Lima Church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you consider making a donation to the Grace Memorial fund at the Fairfield County Community Foundation. If you choose to do so, please make your check payable to "Grace McDonnell Memorial Fund at FCCF" and mail it to Fairfield County Community Foundation, 383 Main Ave., Norwalk, CT 06851.
A funeral will be held for Rachel D'Avino, 29, at 11 a.m. Friday at the Church of the Nativity, East Main Street, Bethlehem. Calling hours at the Woodbury Funeral Home of Munson-Lovetere, 2 School St., Woodbury, will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday.
Emilie Alice Parker, 6, will hold a wake for relatives and close friends from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Myers Mortuary, 845 Washington Blvd., Ogden. Services for relatives and close friends will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Rock Cliff Stake Center, 1000 Suncrest Drive, Ogden. The public is invited to a memorial service at 7 p.m. Thursday at Ben Lomond High School, in the atrium, 800 Jackson Ave., Ogden. Post condolences at www.myers-mortuary.com.
Josephine Grace Gay's, 7, memorial services will be held at St. Rose of Lima Church, Newtown, CT, starting with her wake from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM on Friday, December 21. A Mass of Christian Burial will follow at St. Rose's Church on Saturday, December 22 at 11:00 am. Burial will be at a later date and will be private. Josephine was known for her love of all things purple, so we request that friends and family wear purple in her honor. Many friends and family describe Josephine as "a gift." In celebration of her joyful and giving spirit, a charitable fund is being created in her honor. Information about this fund and her life will be released to the media shortly. Hull Funeral Service, Danbury is handling arrangements. Information and on-line condolences at
Hullfuneralservice.com.
A Homegoing Celebration for Ana Grace Márquez-Green, 6, will be held on Saturday, December 22, 12 Noon, at The First Cathedral, 1151 Blue Hills Ave., Bloomfield. The visitation will be from 10 a.m-12 Noon, prior to the service, at the church. Her burial will be private. Donations in Ana's memory may be made to The Ana Grace Márquez-Greene Music Scholarship Fund, c/o Western Connecticut State University, Office of Institutional Advancement, 181 White St., Danbury, CT, 06810 or
http://www.wcsu.edu/ia/greene-scholarship.asp; or The Ana Grace Márquez-Greene Family Therapy Fund, care of the Outpatient Clinic/Family Therapy Institute, Klingberg Family Centers, 370 Linwood St, New Britain, CT 06052 or
CLICK HERE or The Artist's Collective, 1200 Albany Avenue, Hartford, CT 06112. In addition, friends have set up a fund to support the Marquez-Greene family at
www.anagracefund.imageworksllc.com. For online condolences please visit
www.carmonfuneralhome.com. Cards for the Márquez-Greene family may be sent to WCSU, Department of Music, 181 White St., Danbury, CT 06810 or to Klingberg Family Centers at 370 Linwood St., New Britain, CT 06052.
Dylan Christopher Jack Hockley, 6, beloved and cherished son of Ian Thomas and Nicole Marie (Moretti) will hold private funeral services this week. The Honan Funeral home, 58 Main Street, Newtown, is in care of arrangements. Memorial contributions may be made to the Dylan Hockley Memorial Fund, 34 Charter Ridge Road, Sandy Hook, CT, 06482.
Avielle Rose Richman, 6, will have her memorial services this week and they are private. The family is making arrangements for a memorial fund for those who wish to contribute to.
