Candlelight Vigil

On Tuesday, July 20th, I attended the candlelight vigil for Todd at the state capitol which was organized by members of the gay community in Utah.  There were over 300 people in attendance.  I’m so glad that I could be there to represent my family and to represent the love we have for him.  It was really nice of the organizers to let me say a few words in memory of Todd along with his friends Jerry, June, Jake and Thomas.  My husband, Israel, also sang one verse of Amazing Grace and dedicated his song to Todd. After I spoke there was a minute of silence and then they played “In the Arms of the Angel” by Sarah MacLachlan while we all held candles.  It was truly beautiful.

I got some of the best hugs that night.  After it was over, more than 30 people came up and offered words of comfort and gave me hugs.  Someone named Justin even gave me a bouquet of beautiful white and pink roses that are still on my table.  One of Todd’s high school friends came up to me and told me that Todd had always been so nice to her.  I’m so glad that people were so kind and showed such an outpouring of love for me and my family.  It was really healing.

It was so inspirational to see so many people there to honor Todd and his memory. When I told my family about it, they were very touched. I loved to see people from different walks of life coming together in a spirit of peace and love. We need more of that in the world…not the anger and bitterness that we sometimes encounter.

I filmed the whole service and I watched it again that night when I got home. It is a memory that I will always treasure. I want to thank all of his friends for the love and support they showed him during his life. We are grateful that he had a circle of close friends. Thank you to everyone who attended in honor of Todd and for those who showed me so much love and kindness during this extremely difficult time.

Melissa Ransom Gonzalez

Photos courtesy of photographer David Daniels. See all photos of the event at daviddanielsphotography.com