some of us are friends old and new. some are coworkers, but that is more like family to heather. and some of us are here just out of respect for a young woman who lost her life defending the rights of people. i would like for us to carry her legacy on by doing the same thing, respecting the rights of everyone. the family is humbled and deeply grateful for the outreach and outpouring of love for the community and generosity. we especially need to thank the paramount,vices, the the space downtown, and the police department who has kept us all secure today. at this time, heather's grandfather is going to share some remembrances. >> i like to repeat that we thank you for coming. at this outpouring and affection. let me say that i'm here to speak of heather's childhood. i knew her quite well. she lived in our home for some years. i have rocked her to sleep many times and sometimes we went to sleep together in the chair. i sang to her. i made up little songs at times. i wish i had some of them recorded, they were truly silly, but it did matter to heather. she loved them. i read to her many times, listen ed to tapes with her. we were close. and she, like her brother, love d to be carried in a backpack. little legs flailing, many times she knocked off my hat or pushed it down over my eyes. i will never forget those times. she could reach around and get your hat and swing it and waited -- wave it. i think she experimented with a newton's law of gravity quite often. she showed her passion at an early age. you did not know her as a child, most of you, you only knew her as an adult and solve the passion in her. at an early age she could call out something that did not seem right to her. at one time, my wife was asked to go pick of heather at a nursery and when she showed up, the one taking care of her said, heather, your grandmother is here. heather stamped her foot and got indignant. she said she is not a grandma. walk like this. she is a nana. i will never forget. we teased about it. sometimes i signed cards to her that way down through the years just for a laugh. in earlier years, she wanted fairness. she wanted justice. she wanted people to get equal respect and with an older , brother that got tough because , older brothers will get more privileges and she watched that light a hawk and she calls you out, why can't i do that? why can't i have that privilege? why does he get to do it and we had a lot of fiery discussions. she wanted to understand the viewpoint. it did not seem right to her, but she insisted on knowing your viewpoint. i think you saw some of that. so, we talked and discussed and we had many questions and answers, but sometimes, i couldn't come up with answers. she was pretty sharp. how ironic she ended up in a law office of all things. discussion with passion, hands waving. if you knew heather well, you knew she couldn't talk without both hands in motion. it was an adventure to see her come home from school and tell 's happenings.day i got so animated that we four would quit eating and watch her as she stood up at the corner of the dining room table waving hands and almost dancing as she told you about something that happened that day. she loved life. she was entertaining to watch as she grew up. you never knew what was coming next. yes, that same drive, passion, that same desire for justice. i think we saw it all through her life. she wanted respect for everybody. in our family, all lives matter and she absorbed that quite well as did her mother before her and her brother. she realized we all need forgiveness and we all must extend forgiveness. as we think about her today, we are very proud of her. my wife and i are very proud of susan, nick, and heather. as i think about this, i think and fiddler on the roof. the little girl -- is this the little girl i carried? yes, i think so. that same passion was beyond childhood. the same girl, you have met her. her as an adult, you know her too. she was a lady of great happiness and joy and realized that all lives matter. let me again say we appreciate what this whole community has done for us. you are truly honoring heather and our family. my wife and i deeply appreciate that. bless year. is mark heyer, heather's father. >> no father should have to do this. daughter, and as i look out on you guys, you love her too. she was hard not to love. i want to tell a short story of when she was nine. i came from louisiana. her mom came from virginia and my folks came from florida and we went to a cabin and spent a few days together. the evening was about to get a little chilly and her mom told her to put a sweater on because we were going to a pool. i kind of agreed with heather. she did not want to put the sweater on. but she defied her mom and her mom said we are not going to the pool unless you put the sweater on. for the next two hours -- [laughter] heather decided she knew better at nine and defied her mom. the only thing i could do was go sit in the room with her. , and to't cross her mom this day, i don't remember how that turned out. [laughter] all i remember is heather's passion. heather's passion extended to her ideas, thoughts. her grandfather was right. she could tell if somebody was not being straight and she would call you on it. like a father and daughter relationship, we don't always agree. susan expressed to me that along with me and everybody else, she would argue if she thought it was appropriate, even if she didn't think it was appropriate she would tell you what she thought. as i listened to her friends and hear stories of my daughter and the way she was. she loves to people. she wanted in quality. and in this issue of the day of she wanted to put down feet. and for my part, we just need to stop all this stuff and forgive each other. i think that is what the lord would want us to do thread is to -- to do. just to stop and love one another. i came here today and i was overwhelmed -- i was overwhelmed by the rainbow of colors in this room. that is how heather was. it did not matter who you were or where you're from, she loved you. that was it. you were stuck. [laughter] for that, i'm truly proud of my daughter. that is as far as i've gotten. >> relapse, it is not a sermon. relax, it is not a sermon. it is true that i'm a pastor. i do not typically go by the title of reverend. i go by the title of pastor normally. there are two purposes of a memorial service. first to appreciate and cherish the memories of a loved one. the second is to consider the value of such occasions as this. what value is added to us for the journey that remains for our individual lives? 9, the disciples said to jesus teach us to pray so we know how to live on earth and prepare for eternity. jesus answered, our father which art or, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. give us this day. it is this prayer that will be inflicted in our hearts. the context is important. as i said, i'm a pastor. i'm one of the senior pastor's -- pastors in this city. one of the other speakers tonight -- we have been here 36 years each. heather visited several times, which is the reason her mother, susan, asked for me to speak today. she said speak about diversity. i will share with you and commentsy const -- my of what heather saw at covenant church and what has transpired and why i talked about diversity in the way that i will do so. my role in this community came about as i became a doctoral graduate student at the university of virginia in sociology and much was i surprised that upon completing residency, we would become pastors. our congregation was a modest size, one color totally -- absolutely. i came to the conclusion that after my studies jesus was the greatest sociologist of all time. he understood social movements, small groups, cultures, diversity like no one else. in fact, the sermon on the mount is the finest piece of literature. my decision was to implement the teachings of jesus comes to -- jesus. establsihed -- we established certain principles that i hold dear and that we hold dear and what heather will have experienced coming to covenant. all humanity is family prettify family. but by millions and millions of people around the world. two, all life is equally viable -- equally valuable, regardless of race or social class. "behold, all souls are mine." three, when hearing a matter, be sure to wait to hear the other side before you make a decision. that is proverbs 18 and 17. four, if you have a problem with someone first go to them before telling someone else. matthew 18:15. believe and everyone, believe the best in everyone. matthew 6. forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. six, remember that the cross is common ground where our rights are surrendered. the journey of 36 years brings us to a present moment for 76 national flag hanging in our -- national flags hanging in our sanctuary and more than 20 nations gather on a sunday morning. i do not know the total number of tribes that attend covenant church. one nation did have five different tribes attending at the same time. this is the diversity that heather saw. can you imagine a person -- if i canak about diversity -- you imagine a person going to the university of virginia hospital for martha jefferson, both of which i consider to be world-class medical facilities and needing plasma or a heart transplant and saying, and who is the donor? can you imagine having a brain tumor and getting to the hospital and saying, excuse me, i want to know who the doctors are, the color and the culture. you had a brain tumor, i think you would say, who is the best doctor. who is the best doctor in the house? jesus practiced diversity. he chose a motley crew of disciples, extremely different in personalities, giftedness, and skills, yet he molded them into a formidable force that change the world. my prayer is that this moment of sadness may bring us a higher appreciation of each other and god who would transform us into servants with humility to not only give to the best of the master, but to each other. for me and my house, our best service to you and our city and world is to share the love of jesus with others, regardless of whether they look, talk, dress, act, or eads. -- or eat. what we do. covenant church is one of the most aggressive churches in working with refugees. i would say to you and the family. first of all, susan, thank you for allowing me to share. second, i would hope that you would absolutely with all the energy that is within you appreciate the diversity of mankind and you would do everything you can do to make peace and thank you so much for allowing me to share about heather's experience with diversity at covenant church. a cousin, now comes to speak. a poem to adapt for today. "as the rising sun is going down, we remember heather. as the blunt of the wind and chill of the winter, we remember her. in the blueness of the sky and the warmth of the summer, we remember her. the rustling of the leaves and beauty of the autumn, we remember her. at the beginning of the year and when it ends we remember her. , as long as we live, heather too, will live for she is now a part of us. we remember her. when we are weary and in need of strength, we remember her. when we are lost and sick at heart, we remember her. when we have decisions that are difficult to make, we remember her. when we have joy we crave to share, we remember her. when we have achievements that are based on hers, we remember her. for as long as the latest, she too will live, for heather is now part of us as we remember her." may our memories of heather be a comfort to us all. diana radcliff will be next. >> i'm going to be sharing a letter that i wrote to heather about all the things i wish i said before today. dear heather, did i ever tell you about my earliest memory of you? my mom image of you in and pop's kitchen. did i tell you that your eyes glittered? did i tell you, you come from a long line of stubborn and passionate women? the qualities of a color that -- the qualities of a toddler that would drive any parent crazy. those qualities turn you into an independent and compassionate woman. did i ever tell you how much i admired the woman who became -- ? your patience was heroic. your courage. you never had a problem having the conversation or saying what needed to be said, even when it was uncomfortable. your conviction. you did not let other people tell you how to think, feel, how to behave. did i ever tell you how much you taught me? that you don't have to be a world leader, nobel prize winner, or a ceo to change the world. just be one person willing to show compassion to another. did i ever tell you how much i loved you? heather, when my children asked me who i admire most, i will tell them you. my baby cousin, who is larger-than-life and too good for this world. you are in a better place now where there is no pain, no sadness, no hunger and no hate. you might not be with us anymore, but you will always be in our hearts. love always, diana. i'd like to introduce a friend of heather's. >> i am normally not one to speak in front of a group of people, but today i felt like i owed it to heather. there was a wonderful person. she was not just a coworker, she was a friend. i just wanted to share a few moments that we had together. i worked in the office with knows shend everyone is not a morning person. that is her worst thing. [laughter] she would come in in the morning and be like, good morning, heather. my view, she comes in at 10:00. [laughter] and get her in copy. that was important. we all wanted heather to have her coffee. soul she wonderful would get to. work and stay after an come in on the weekends. we all admired her commitment to her job into life in general. - and to life in general. real person. she cursed like a sailor sometimes. my office is right outside the printer, and i could hear her. something was jammed or something wouldn't work and she would look at me and say, sorry. that's fine. that was an everyday thing. and that printer were enemies. we will all continue to have sleepless nights and the pain -- eventually made away fade away. but our memory of heather will always live on. i wrote something. it ended this way that horrible saturday. that devastating phone call we didn't want to believe is true and the ache in our hearts of hearing what happened to you read -- to you. there must have been a mistake i kept saying to myself. the numbness in my body and the words i couldn't speak. standing there listening but not actually hearing. how could this happen in the world today? after all those marches that ended in violence and all those verdicts that ended in rage and all the hate crimes that go unsolved, when is this so-called change?oing to i am so sorry, heather. sorry that you cared so much. maybe if you didn't stand up or speak so lovely, maybe if you weren't so bold, they wouldn't have heard you and you would still be here. now your death will be empty in your copy couples of their untouched. folder on top of folder, but your fingers will never flip those pages. you will not utter a single name. it will never be the same. i want to thank you for all your your talks, for all your smiles. for believing this world can change and trying to make that happen. word you for making the "hate" real. making the word " love" even stronger. thank you. >> hello, when. i am alfred wilson every -- wilson. i was heather's supervisor. she was my close friend. quite often, she and i used to joke, because i would say that she was my "office wife." [laughter] i say that because a lot of people would tell you in the office and she even told my own wife and kids that she hated me sometimes. [laughter] our beginning was interesting and humble, in a way. heather first came to our office five years ago and went i sat down and interviewed with her and she looked around the office and pointed out to me -- "i just have a high school degree. i am just a waitress. i've never worked in office before we -- before. i don't not a type, but i will do my best." i asked her how she did with her tips and she said that she did well with her tips. i asked her to tell me a story about one of the customers that came in. she told me a story about a customer who came in and she listened to him. as i listened to her talk to me, i said, "you need to come work for me." she said, "i don't know anything about the legal system. i don't know anything about bankruptcy." i said, "this is what i'm here for." she came and worked for us. and did she ever come and work for us. i mean, heather just sat back and became a sponge. everything i would tell her about the bankruptcy codes, she absorbed it. she would go to classes i sent her to. she studied it on her own but the most amazing part of it was watching her interact with clients and that was the piece i was seeing when i looked at her in the interview. she cared about everyone she spoke to. she listened to everyone she spoke to and she took to heart everything that they had to say. one time, i was just passing by her desk and she was talking to a client. it was kind of interesting because the client worked at uva and was a professor. the wife worked at uva hospital so both of them probably made four or five times more than heather and they were both kind of embarrassed about what was going on, that they were having to come to her to file bankruptcy. she held their hands and said, "alfred always tells me to remember that one of us could be on the other side of the table. so i could easily be you interviewing me." it didn't bother her that they were professors. it was heather. heather, she was an amazing woman. all caps off and, my my -- wife and i would say our youngest daughter reminded me of heather. my youngest daughter make you feel like choking myself sometimes. [laughter] that is heather, as well. [laughter] she would talk back to me. talking about my youngest daughter, and heather. [laughter] when i would say yes, heather would say no, and my youngest daughter would do the same. when i would think i had the right answer, heather would give me a different answer and my youngest daughter will do the same thing. but the thing is, heather would always have that fight and that compassion in her, and at those times i was upset and was working late because i was bothered by something that happened in court or with a trustee, guess who stayed late with me? heather. she would come in there and give me a hug and see if there was something she could do, and maybe nothing she could do because she knew nothing about call thed on what we back end of the process. but she would be there. i want to tell you a little story that happened one time probably about two years ago. heather has a friend she was seeing, and i knew she had been seeing him for a little while. and one night, heather and i worked late until about 8:00 and were walking out of the office and as we walked out, her friend was sitting outside waiting for her. and i come the next day and heather was a little upset. i was wondering what was wrong and she said her and her friend got into an argument. i was like, what's wrong? she said, well, you came out of the office and my friend saw you can -- saw you. i'm like, ok. i told him, you were my boss, and he said, "you never told me you work for a black man," and he was like, what difference does that make? she basically sat there and said she didn't have a friend anymore, because she broke up with him, because it was more important to her that somebody she knew would stand by her, me, and didn't care who she was. i did not care that she only had a high-school degree. me thatd enough about she stood up for it in her own personal relationship. it took a lot of strength for her to do something like that. as far she knows, the next day, i could have decided to fire her and she wouldn't have had a boyfriend and she didn't have a job. [laughter] but, heather, she was always there for everyone. i mean, the staff that came through the office, the ladies in the office had a unique bond and that is one of the things that if any of you could ever come to our office, we were like family. all of us, after hours, we would sit there and have a couple drinks and have blocks with each other. -- laughs with each other. we would hug each other. one of our staff was there with heather the day of the crash. had watched her have a baby, watching her kids grow up. heather's watched my children grow up. and now, she is going to have to look down from heaven and watch. but i know heather -- told myself i wouldn't get upset, but this is not working. i am proud of heather. she -- i mean, this woman came to me and she did not believe how good she was, she always constantly tried to remind me, i am just a waitress. i was like, no, you are not a waitress, you are a paralegal. you are damn good at your job. so good that my email all week has been blowing up. i mean, all weekend i kept getting e-mails, and i knew we had screwed something up. but it was actually people emailing. officea guy come by the and i am so used to people dropping in and saying that have a problem. this guy is sitting and waiting and i am like, here is another problem. and he came in there, he was a client three years ago. and he said when he heard about heather, he and his wife wanted to come by to express how important she was to them. he explained to me how heather relaxed them and got them to understand what they were going through and basically made of them feel like it was a good decision. he took it out of his day, the middle of the day to take off from work to tell us heather was that important. and i printed off like 2 emails i wanted to read you guys. i asked these clients, could i read them to you. mr. wilson, message from ashley, "i would like to send our condolences to your firm, heather was such a sweet person. ms. heather perry -- heather. always kind, friendly, helpful, in any way possible. she, in my eyes, is a hero, and hopefully all of this madness can stop, and hopefully we can make heather smile. thanks for your help, mr. wilson. " this one client sent this, and i started crying at my computer. said "tonight, mr. wilson, my heart sunk and tears flowed. casey and i worked with heather when we came to your group to seek help for filing chapter 13 bankruptcy in 2015. we felt hopeless. when we arrived, i remember heather running your front office like a queen. she knew her work. she performed it well. heather left a true impact on me and my husband. we were your clients. i can only imagine the pain and sorrow your office may be feeling this monday morning, a true void, a senseless act of evil crime, an act of terrorism took heather home. i am so saddened for everybody who knew heather and i am praying that the family and her friends and her workers will truly be able to heal. we will miss her." heather, i mean, she touched our clients every day. i mean, she was the one person in the office that touched every file in our office. not a just one file, but every file had to come through heather. they touched her hands, every single one of them. heather would sit there and she got what i was teaching her, if you really look at a file the right way, you can see what happens in a person's life. you see a whole bunch of credit card debt and you see three kids, you know they cared about their kids and spent way too much money than they were supposed to. he see a whole lot of medical bills down there. you know they had some kind of pain, something that happened. heather would be sympathetic to that. she would tell me before walked that before i even walked in there to see them, this lady had breast cancer, be mindful of that aspect of it. she cared about things like that. i will pray and ask that our world, somehow, someway, as we -- can sit here and feel the love that she had. i mean, she believed in each and every one of us. she saw the good in everyone. even the times she said she hated me, she would still turn around and hug me within five minutes later. [laughter] i thank all of you for coming out here. i have been truly blessed. when i say "truly blessed," i have been truly blessed to know heather. i've been blessed to know her mother. her stepfather. i mean, these are like really good people. my tire -- my brakes went bad in my car. what does heather do? she called him up and he fixed my truck. why, because he loves heather, i know that. heather told her i was good so i must be a good person as far as they are concerned. they would drop a hat for anything, and so i know that is where heather got it from, her parents. just -- i would ask any of you to take the time for the next few days or the rest of your life, please just reach out your hand to somebody you don't know and touch them, tell them hi. do something i did it the other day, just thinking about heather. i was at mcdonald's drive-through and i told them i was paying for the lunch for the people behind me. i don't know who it was behind me. but i just knew heather would care enough, and she just helped everybody. maybe do something as simple as that. buy the lunch for somebody behind you. don't acknowledge it, because then you are trying to take credit for it. that is something have their -- heather never did. she never sat and took credit for what she did good. she just did it because that is what it is supposed to be. thank you. next, we have heather's mother. >> i have aged 10 years in the last week. my fibromyalgia is worse than ever. but i will be all right. my child's famous facebook post was "if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." she paid attention. she made a lot of us pay attention. oh, my gosh, dinner with her we knew was going to be an ordeal of listening. [laughter] and conversation and perhaps disagreement, but it was going to happen. and so, my husband would say, ok, i'm going to go out in the car and play on my video game for a while. we would sit and we would grill and she and i would talk and i would listen. we would negotiate and i would listen, and we talked about all of the stuff. we talked about politics, we talked about anything that caught her eye that she felt was fair, unfair. she would talk about her feelings about the office and how things were going. i mean, she just talked, the girl loved to talk. and she was single, so there was nobody to listen at home so mama got a lot of it. [laughter] and that was wonderful. you never think you will bury your child, and you never think to take those pictures. they asked me for pictures for this and i struggled. i had pictures from her childhood, but i had to go to facebook to find pictures of my child, because we were always together. i saw her a couple times a month and we would facebook message at bedtime, "i love you, you doing ok, i love you." i have no regrets on that part. take pictures of the ones you love, because you do not know when they are not going to be there. but here's what i want to say to you today -- this could be a storm in a teacup and could all be for nothing. this -- i could've said, let's not do this publicly, let's have a small, private funeral, but that is not who heather was. was,e who knew heather this is the way she had to go, big and large. have to have the world involved, because that was my child. she was just that way, always has been and will continue to be. here is the message -- although heather was a caring and compassionate person, so are a lot of you. a lot of you go that extra mile. and i think the reason what happened to heather has struck a chord is because we know that what she did is achievable. we do not all have to die, we do not all have to sacrifice our lives. they tried to kill my child to shut her up. well, guess what? you just magnified her. [applause] so here is what i want to happen. you ask me, what can i do, so many caring people, pages and pages of stuff i am going through. i am reading pages and pages of how she is touching the world. i want this to spread. i don't want this to die. this is just the beginning of heather's legacy. this not the end of heather's legacy. you need to find in your heart that small spark of accountability. what is there that i can do to make the world a better place? what injustice do i see and do want to turn away -- "i do want to get involved, guess i don't want to get involved, my boss might think less of me." i don't care. you poke that finger at yourself like heather would have done. you make it happen. you take that extra step. you find a way to make a difference in the world. my child had a high-school education, my child was no saint, she was hard to raise, because everything was a negotiation. [laughter] not kidding. [laughter] but you know what? she was a firm believer in whatever she believed, and let's do that. let's find that spark of conviction, let's find in ourselves that action. let's spread this. let's have the uncomfortable dialogue. it ain't easy sitting down and saying, why are you upset? it ain't easy saying, i think this way and i do not agree with you, but i'm going to respectfully listen to what you have to say. we are not going to sit around and shake hands and sing "kumbaya," and it is not all about forgiveness. i know that is not a popular trend. the truth is, we are going to have our differences, we are going to be angry with each other, but let's channel that anger not into hate, not into violence, not into fear, but let's channel that anger into righteous action. right now, down the road, there's a blood drive going on in heather's name. right now, there are people were here willing to listen to one another and talk to one another. last night in new england, they had a peaceful rally in heather's name to have some difficult dialogues. if you ever want to see what those difficult dialogues look like, look at her facebook posts. i'm telling you, they were rough sometimes, but they were dialogues, and the conversations have to happen and that is the only way we will carry heather's spark through. so remember in your heart, if you're not outraged, you're not paying attention. and i want you to pay attention, find what is wrong, don't ignore it, don't look the other way. you make it a point to look at --and shake yourself, what say to yourself, what can i do to make a difference, and that is how you are going to make my child's death worthwhile. i would rather have my child, but if i have to give her up, we are going to make it count. [applause] [applause] >> how befitting to have the song "amazing grace" to be sung, a song that was written by john newton. my understanding also is it was moaned in the belly of a slave ship was owned by john newton. seeing the intermixing of the good things, the hard things, to come together to make something as beautiful as "amazing grace." you are going to hear some sound, imagine yourself on that ship. things that are going to happen right now. [ocean sounds] [humming "amazing grace"] >> ♪ amazing grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me i once was lost but now am found i was blind but now i see through many dangers, toils, and snares i have already come t'was grace that brought me safe thus far and grace will lead me home when we've been there 10,000 years bright shining as the sun we've no less days to sing god's praise than when we first begun hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah amen ♪ [applause] [ocean sounds] [applause] >> to the family and all the friends assembled here, there is a verse that appears in the 90th psalm, verse 12. it says, "so teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom." this particular psalm is ascribed to moses. it is identified as the prayer of moses, and it is obvious from the prayer that it was a quest, or maybe i should say a request, to ask god for some assistance and help to live. it was not just for moses himself, but it was for the people of israel. but what is interesting about this particular psalm and the focus of my words today, as we celebrate the life of heather, is the fact he says to god teach us, instruct us, educate us, inform us, give us knowledge to number our days. now, the hebrew word for the word "number" does not mean to count. but rather, to make each day that you live count. in other words, you need to learn how to get the most out of your life. see, a lot of times, we determine a full life by the number of years that you live. but i want you to know, it is not how long you live, it's what you do with the days that you have to live. because the object is to get the most out of each day. because each day that god gives you is a blessing. each day is a gift. but this word "number" seems to suggest to be counted or to make yourself accountable. it is to be able to acknowledge. and one of the things i want to suggest about heather is this. that is that she had some value s that enabled her to make each day count. you see, i don't want to rust out in life, i want to wear out in life, and the way i want to wear out is by giving my life to a cause or for a reason that enables me to make a difference in somebody else's life. because what i have learned in the 65 years and a few months of my living is this -- it is not how long, it is what you do while you live. and so for me, as you live your days, as you reflect, as you commemorate, as you celebrate her life, then you need to learn from her, and that is make each day count, because she lived her life supporting and believing and having a value that enabled her to fight for justice and righteousness. now, as i think about some of things i could do. and yes, haters have been here. we don't want them here. but we need to take a higher road. and we need to let them know that the three lives that were lost this weekend will not be in vain. and one of the ways you can make them not be in vain is to make sure that you do -- use your life and get the most of this by touching another life. well, how do you touch another life? wouldn't it be wonderful in charlottesville, that if each one of us adopted a child who cannot read and if we made sure the child was read grading -- on the right level of reading. was on grade reading level in this community, you would have a child that wouldn't -- there wouldn't be a child in this community who could not read. and don't you know it would say this about heather's life, that just as she didn't waste hers, we didn't waste ours. i want to get the most out of my life. and one of the things i want to make sure of is that my living is not in vain. the songwriter said it best. that if i can help somebody as i pass along, if i can show somebody they are traveling ong, if i can teach somebody then my living shall not be in ain. what will you do with the rest of the days of your life. will you make a difference in someone's life? because the bottom line is, you have to decide that either you were roughed out or wear out. let us pray. and now god our father, we thank you for the life of heather. we thank you for her mom, her father, her stepfather. we thank you for her brother, sister-in-law. we thank you for her grandparents. we thank you for everyone who has instilled values in her life. now, lord, i pray that you would bless the family, affirm their faith and trust in thee but remind us that you doeth all things well. now keep them and bless them in the name of jesus and soon coming king we do pray and all the people gathered here said amen. i need to ask that everybody would remain seated until the mily has exited from the auditorium, the morticians are in charge. ma'am, would you please take your seat. hold it. hold it. please be quiet. ma'am, would you please take your seat? would you please take your seat? fficer -- thank you. [applause] fter the family, we'll let the governor, lieutenant governor and the attorney general and heir staff be dismissed too. > let me give the benediction. and now may the grace of god our heavenly father, may the love of is son jesus the christ, may the communion of the holy spirit henceforth forever more. god bless you. announcer: vice president mike pence is in an oversea trip in colombia, argentina, chile and panama. >> the remarks made by president trump about the violence in charlottesville alarmed many people. do you agree that there were good people among the white sprem cyst and do you believe -- supremacist and do you believe confederate statues should be removed? or do you agree that general robert e. lee should be considered in the same pantheon as george washington. vice president pence: what happened in charlottesville was a tragedy. the president has been clear on this tragedy and so have it. i spoke at length about this heartbreaking situation on sunday night in columbia. and i stand with the president and i stand by those words. but today while i'm here in our hearts are in charlottesville because just a family and urs ago, friends gathered to say farewell to a remarkable young woman, heather heyer. and we've been praying. we've been praying for god's peace and comfort for her family and her friends and her loved ones. and we're also praying that in america that we will not allow . e few to divide the many the strength of the united states is always the strongest as said so eloquently by the president when we are united with our shared values and so it will always be. >> on wednesday, we talked to a foreman white nationalist who now works to encourage people to leave hate groups. this is a half hour. on book t. 2. >> "washington journal" continues. former r guest was a white aryan resistance organizer and now is executive director of life after hate, tonal