• Funerals, memorials for Aurora shooting victims planned across nation

    Police returned to the apartment of suspected Colorado shooter James Holmes to search for more evidence as relatives of the victims make plans for funerals. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

    By Vignesh Ramachandran

    Friends and family members were beginning to gather Wednesday in Aurora, Colo., and across the nation for ceremonies remembering the 12 people killed in Friday's movie theater massacre.

    Gordon W. Cowden, the oldest victim at age 51, was being remembered as "a quick-witted world traveler with a keen sense of humor," according to a statement issued by his family. A memorial service for the Texas native was being held Wednesday at Pathways Church in Denver, followed by a separate service at the Riverbend Centre in Austin, Texas.

    Micayla Medek

    Services for Micayla Medek, 23, will be held Thursday at New Hope Baptist Church in Denver after a viewing Wednesday at the Newcomer Funeral Home & Crematory in Aurora. The Micayla Medek Memorial Fund has been established at the Fitzsimons Credit Union.


    Jessica Ghawi

    A memorial service for 24-year-old aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi, will be held Saturday in her native San Antonio, Texas, her brother Jordan wrote on his blog.  Her body will be crremated in Denver before the service in San Antonio's Community Bible Church. A separate memorial service for Ghawi, who wrote under the name Jessica Redfield,will be held Saturday at The Edge Ice Arena in Littleton, Colo., according to the New York Daily News.

    Her  family has established the "Official Jessica Redfield Sports Journalism Scholarship Fund."

    Related: Miracle baby of the Aurora tragedy

    Matt McQuinn

    Matt McQuinn, 27, will be buried in his native Ohio. According to the Springfield News-Sun, visitation will take place Friday at the Maiden Lane Church of God in Springfield, Ohio. A fund to help offset funeral costs has been set up through the church. On Saturday, his funeral is at 10 a.m. and burial is at Lawrenceville Cemetery in Clark County, Ohio.

    The family of John Larimer, 27, said his funeral and burial would be private that a public visitation will be 3 to 9 p.m. Friday at Davenport Funeral Home in his hometown of Crystal Lake, Ill., the Northwest Herald reported.

    John Larimer

    "While we are overwhelmed by pain by this terrible loss, we are mindful of the other 11 families mourning the loss of another promising, wonderful young person, and the dozens of other families at the bedside of their injured loved one, hoping, praying they recover fully," Larimer's aunt, Karen Lavin, said in a statement to the Northwest Herald. "None of us will ever fully recover from such a terrible loss, the senseless, brutal actions that in just seconds took so many, so much away from us."

    Alex Sullivan

    For Alex Sullivan, who died on his 27th birthday, public visitation will take place Thursday from noon to 4 p.m. at The HeartLight Center in Aurora.

    "We're shocked," Shelly Fradkin, the mother of one of Sullivan's good friends, told the Longmont Times-Call. "We're numb. We're sick," Fradkin said. "Our hearts are broken, and we're crushed."

    Alex Teves

    Alex Teves, 24, died shielding his girlfriend from the flying bullets.

    "You're talking about probably one of the best people on Earth, and he can't be replaced," father Tom Teves told Denver's NBC-affiliate, KUSA. "He can't be replaced for our family. He can't be replaced in society. We're going to miss him terribly. We love him. We know he's in Heaven. We know he's going to be ok. We're the ones who're going to suffer."

    The Teves family is planning memorial services in Arizona and New Jersey.

    Related: 6-year-old girl, sailor, aspiring broadcaster among Colorado shooting victims

    Jonathan Blunk

    Jonathan Blunk, 26, also died attempting to shield a friend. Chantel Blunk, his estranged wife, told NBC News from Reno, Nev.: "He wanted to die a hero." She said there are plans to bring his body home to Reno, and has set up an account through Wells Fargo to raise funds to offset the funeral and transportation expenses.

    Blunk will be buried with military honors Friday in Reno, Nev., according to the New York Daily News.

    AJ Boik

    Alexander Jonathan "AJ" Boik, 18, had plans to attend art school, become an art teacher and open his own studio. A spokesperson for Aurora Public Schools, where Boik was a recent graduate of Gateway High School, said there was a private memorial service Monday. There will be a public visitation on Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m. at Horan & McConaty Family Chapel in Aurora. A funeral mass for Boik will be 10 a.m. Friday at the Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora.

    Rebecca Ann Wingo, 32, was originally from Quinlan, Texas. Her father, Steve Hernandez, wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday: I lost my daughter yesterday to a mad man, my grief right now is inconsolable, I hear she died instantly, without pain, however the pain is unbearable." A college fund has been set up for Wingo's two daughters at the Nebraska Educational Savings Trust, according to KUSA.

    Funeral services for Wingo will be in Colorado on Friday, according to KHON2 in Honolulu.

    Veronica Moser-Sullivan

    Veronica Moser-Sullivan was the youngest victim at age 6. Her father, Ian Sullivan, told KUSA, "She's always been a free-spirited child."

    As of Tuesday, a fund for all the victims and families of the tragedy has reached $2 million, KUSA reported. People can donate online at GivingFirst.org.

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