Amanda Medek, sister of Micayla Medek, is escorted from where the family of Aurora, Colo., movie theater shooting victim Micayla Medek had gathered before her funeral Thursday in Denver. Micayla Medek was one of 12 people were killed and over 50 wounded in the shooting attack early Friday at a packed movie theater during a showing of the Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises.” Police have identified the suspected shooter as James Holmes, 24.
Photo by Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press.
As pallbearers accompanied the coffin of Micayla Medek down the aisle of New Hope Baptist Church after her funeral Thursday, “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston filled the space, emphasizing the values that Medek cherished most: joy, happiness and love.
Micayla, went to the Batman movie with six friends to see the premiere of “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Cayla
Cayla, as her family and friends called her, was a vibrant young woman who loved Hello Kitty, the magic of fairies, and spending every Thursday night dining with her dad.
She was very tolerant, ”We’re all a little weird. And life’s a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up in mutual weirdness and call it love.”
About 1,200 people attended the funeral, including Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates, Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan and Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Medek’s family, including parents Greg and Rena Medek and her sister Amanda, waited in agony for about 20 hours before learning that she had been killed.
Greg and Amanda had rushed to six different hospitals, trying to discover if she was among the wounded and showing her picture to law enforcement authorities in an attempt to get information.
The tragedy has been particularly hard for her father, Greg, a devout man who said he has had to dig deep into his faith to seek understanding. “I’m just a guy trying to make it, to trust in his Lord as best as he can,” Medek said. “I lost a precious soul.”
Medek, the youngest of three children, was known for her radiant spirit, infectious laughter and willingness to help. Once, at her job — which she described as a “sandwich artist” at Subway — an older man came to the counter, disoriented and confused.
“She went beyond the service of the job and went the extra mile,” said Slaughter. “She called his family and waited with him until his loved ones arrived.”
On Thursday, people remembered that spirit of giving.
“I’ll never find another person to replace her with,” said Thomas Luong, who met Medek when they were high school sophomores. “But I’ve gained so many new friends through this, and I pray this love continues to grow stronger and stronger.”
Read more at the Denver Post
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