Strangers flock to El Paso to say goodbye to shooting victim
EL PASO, Texas — Thousands of strangers came to say goodbye to a woman who was killed in a mass shooting in El Paso after hearing her longtime companion had few family members left.
Antonio Basco had told reporters he felt alone in planning the funeral for Margie Reckard, one of 22 people killed when a gunman opened fire at a Walmart on Aug. 3. Mr. Basco had almost no family left, so he invited the world to join him in remembering his companion of 22 years.
He thought he might get a few well-wishers from El Paso.
Then, the flowers started coming in.
Then, the funeral home had to change venues.
People came from around the country. They stood in line for hours Friday for Ms. Reckard’s funeral, then patiently waited Saturday in sweltering temperatures as Mr. Basco buried her.
Fewof those in attendance had ever met Ms. Reckard, but almost all said the suffering city — and the nation — needed to see how to rally around those in pain.
Jordan Ballard, of Los Angeles, said she lived in New York City during 9/11 and in Oklahoma City during the 1995 bombing. After reading about Mr. Basco, she bought a plane ticket.
“The potential of him experiencing this alone made me come,” she said. “I know if I was lost, my family had eachother.”
Angelique Tadeo, her husband, Paul, and their 3-yearold granddaughter drove more than four hours from Tucson, Ariz. During the 2011 shooting in Tucson that injured then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed six, Ms. Tadeo worked as a nurse and treated victims.
“We know what the city is going through, and we wanted to be here,” she said.
As soon as he got the memorial details, Jerry Brown, 58, of San Angelo, Texas, got in his car and drove 400 miles in six hours.
“In the military, we have this saying: ‘We don’t leave people behind,’” said Mr. Brown, a veteran. “It didn’t matter where I was. I knew I was going to come here today.”
“This is El Paso, bro,” Jerry Medina, of El Paso, said about the crowd.
Moments before burying his companion, Mr. Basco spoke to reporters. “My life is not complete no more,” he said. But when he looked out and saw a crowd of 3,000 on Friday, he was in awe. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”
In the days ahead, Mr. Basco plans on keeping in touch with new friends and resting.
He still speaks as if Ms. Reckard’s in the room. “She loved El Paso. She would have loved this,” he said.
Then, he turned toward a hearse, got inside and rode to the burial site, where more strangers were waiting.