| Laci's Birthday Memorial May 4, 2003 - MODESTO, CA Today would have been and should have been a day of joy for the family and friends of Laci Rocha Peterson. They would have come together to celebrate the 28th birthday of Laci with the captivating smile, engaging personality and warm hospitality. And, they would have taken turns holding Conner, the baby boy born only weeks earlier to Laci and her husband, Scott. Instead, what would have been and should have been a day of smiles andlaughter will be a day of tears and prayers as Laci's family and friends come together to honor her memory. About 3,000 locals locked hands and wept during a packed church service on Sunday to honor Laci Peterson -- just blocks from where her husband is being held on charges of murdering the pregnant woman and dumping her body in the San Francisco Bay. Filled with flowers, music and a photo montage of the sunny mother-to-be projected onto two large overhead screens, the 90-minute, memorial service at the First Baptist Church honored the former substitute teacher on what would have been her 28th birthday. Chaplains and pastors offered prayers and nine of Peterson's closest girlfriends wept as they took turns at the lectern remembering the avid gardener and cook as their own Martha Stewart. "Laci has brought her friends together, Laci brought this city together and to some extent Laci brought this nation together," said Heather Sutton, who played softball with Laci since they were six years old. Laci Peterson's parents and a handful of close family members sat huddled together in the front row. The only one who spoke was Brent Rocha, Laci's brother, who recalled for the mourners what Laci told him three years ago when their grandmother died. "She said: 'When I die I don't want people to be sad. I don't want people to be missing me. I want people to be happy'," Rocha said. For Laci's family -- mother and stepfather, Sharon Rocha and Ron Grantski; father, Dennis Rocha; brother, Brent Rocha; and half sister, Amy Rocha -- today's memorial is one more difficult step on the tragic journey that began with Laci's disappearance Christmas Eve. As family members left the church, Laci's stepfather, Ron Grantski held up his hand to the crowd and said: "Thanks, folks." Someone nearby in the audience answered back: "God bless you." The service was not meant as a funeral. The bodies of the mother-to-be and her unborn son, Conner, remain at the Contra Costa County Coroner's office, which is trying to determine the cause of death. Laci Peterson washed ashore from the San Francisco Bay on April 14, a day after Conner's body, with its umbilical cord still attached, was found by hikers about a mile down the shoreline. The bodies surfaced along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay, within a couple of miles from where Scott Peterson claimed he went fishing Christmas Eve, the day his pregnant wife disappeared. Peterson, who could face the death penalty if convicted, is being held without bail at the Stanislaus County Jail, about a half mile from the church. A bail hearing scheduled for Tuesday was delayed Friday after defense attorney Mark Geragos took over the case. Peterson wanted to attend the memorial service, but authorities refused. His family told reporters they also planned to avoid the ceremony in order not to create undue distraction. The photo montage of Laci Peterson's life featured happier times, with her smiling face filling snapshots taken at the Peterson wedding. Scott Peterson was cut out of all the photos and he was not mentioned in the tributes. Today, two families will suffer in very different ways, one mourning in a very public manner, the other struggling in private. Two families brought together by marriage. Two families who stood together when Laci disappeared. Two families who now grieve for Laci and her baby boy. Two families separated by the search for justice, one having lost a daughter,the other trying to save a son. MEMORIAL MEMORIAL PICTURES HOME INDEX LACI LACI'S ALBUM AUTOPSY INDEX VIGIL BURIAL TIMELINE WITNESS LIST EVIDENCE-NEWS TRIBUTES |
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| GOD BLESS LACI & CONNER HEAVEN'S NEWEST ANGELS |
| GOD BLESS LACI & CONNER HEAVEN'S NEWEST ANGELS |
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