'A shining light': Van attack victim Anne Marie D'Amico remembered at funeral
CBC News | Posted: May 2, 2018 12:29 PM | Last Updated: May 2, 2018
'No one would be the same after they've met her,' says friend of 30-year-old
At a funeral service held Wednesday, family and friends of Anne Marie D'Amico remembered the 30-year-old as a caring, loving individual.
"She was not a quiet presence, she was just this light, this shining light," said Francesca Imbrogno, a high school friend of D'Amico's, outside St. Clare's Roman Catholic Church in Toronto.
"No one would be the same after they've met her."
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Mourners packed the pews of the church to remember D'Amico, who was among 10 people killed in last week's deadly van attack in Toronto's north end.
D'Amico's brother, Nick, delivered the eulogy, sobbing as he recounted their childhood adventures. D'Amico, he said, was a shy child who never wanted to be the centre of attention.
D'Amico worked at Invesco Canada, a U.S.-based investment firm with offices near the scene of the attack, and has been described as a cheerful, friendly person and a dedicated volunteer.
Imbrogno said D'Amico's family doesn't want people who knew Anne Marie to be sad or angry.
"They want us to be hopeful and happy and to pass on her message," said Imbrognio. "So I think that's really important, in the spirit of Anne-Marie, to keep hope and spread kindness."
'Be better to one another'
The D'Amico family says Anne Marie would have wanted people to care for one another in the aftermath of the tragedy.
In a statement read by a friend outside the church, her family said she was a warm person with a big heart.
"Like spring time, Anne Marie also had a lightness about her. A warmth and a way of being that we miss beyond words and feel deep in our hearts," said the family's statement, read by friend John Simonetti.
"We believe it is our obligation to all those affected by this tragedy, especially to those who died, to be better to one another...that is what Anne Marie would have wanted."
The family says they feel broken by the tragedy but want their resilience to be a legacy to the 10 victims of the attack.
D'Amico's family also says they are praying for the loved ones of the others who died last week, as well as for the family of the man charged in the incident.
Funerals have already been held for Dorothy Sewell, 80, Geraldine Brady, 83, and 85-year-old Munir Najjar.
Alek Minassian, 25, of Richmond Hill, Ont., has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 of attempted murder related to those injured in the attack. Police say they expect to lay another three attempted murder charges against him.