LOS ANGELES, June 18: Christina Grimmie’s friends, family and fans bade the singer adieu at an emotional public memorial service in New Jersey.
Christina’s brother, Marcus, recalled the night his beloved sister was shot by a deranged fan.
“All the rumors are true, when the gunman came, he was very quick, it happened so fast, her arms were open and she saw Jesus next,” recalled Marcus, who tackled the gunman to the ground moments after he had shot Christina to death. (The gunman then fatally shot himself.)
“Her arms were open for him, her arms were open at all times. I love you Christina, you are the best.”
The gathering was at Fellowship Alliance Chapel in Medford, which the family had attended before moving to California to help Christina pursue her dream of a musical career, reported People magazine.
“The Voice” alum was celebrated in a sanctuary where a larger-than-life photo of the singer hung from a wall and a bounty of flowers were laid before across the altar to honour a life that shockingly ended while Christina signed autographs for fans last Friday at her concert in Orlando.
For hours before the start of the 90-minute service, a crowd of several thousand lined the outside of the church as they slowly filed in to pay their respects to the Grimmies.
During the service, Christina’s mother, Tina, tearfully addressed the crowd.
“I don’t have too much to say. I could tell you about the memories of when she was a baby and she lah-la-lahed and when she was getting a bath I’d tell her to sing for Jesus (sic),” she said through sobs.
“The last time I saw my daughter was on my birthday, May 25, the day before we had mother-daughter time and we’d talk and on my birthday, me, Bud (Christina’s father), Christina and Marc, we went to The Cheesecake Factory and I always told her I loved her and to put God first.”
Bud wrapped his arms around his grieving wife and said: “This crowd has blessed me beyond words. There is this gigantic hole in my heart that I know is never going to go away but God showed me he is way bigger than that hole. I believe that. There are three things that keep me upright rather than being a crumpled mess in the corner. I know I am going to see her again.”
He continued, “She is not going to be hurting… This is where I am wrestling, God’s plan is better than my plan. I’ve argued with god, ‘Your plans are better than mine?’ This doesn’t make sense.” (PTI)
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