Lives Lost - Lives Shattered

what did she do for living

Our hearts are just broken for the loss of Mary Read, and we just pray that God would pour out unmeasured comfort and grace to the Read family.

We are an Air Force family. Our daughter is a Hokie graduate from Annandale. Our hearts go out to your family.

Celebrate the life of Mary with Light, Love and Peace.

My prayers to you and ur family. May God give u strength during ur moment of pain and despair. I cannot imagine what you're going through but know that my heart and everyone else in America grieves with you. God Bless!

There are no words to leaven the pain of your loss and this tragedy. But the following is a humble offering that hopefully will bring some comfort, when you feel the sun shining again:

In the rising of the sun and in its going down, we remember them.

In the blowing of the wind and in the chill of winter, we remember them.

In the opening of buds and in the warmth of summer, we remember them.

In the beginning of the year and when it ends, we remember them.

So long as we live they, too, shall live for they are now a part of us as we remember them.

Don't stand beside my grave and weep.
For I'm not there. I do not sleep.

When you awake from sleep in hush,
and hear the swift, uplifting rush
of quiet birds in circling flight;
Or in the soft starlight of night,

I'll be that gentle breeze that blows,
in moonlit glints of falling snow;
Or sunlight on the ripened grain,
after a gentle autumn rain.

Don't stand beside my grave and weep.
I am not there. I do not sleep.
[Anonymous]

My heart goes out to your whole family now iam so sorry this had 2 happen to such a beautiful girl

To the family and friends of Mary Karen Read and the entire Va. Tech Community,

I offer you my heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathy in the loss of Mary Karen. I was deeply touched by her fathers words in a recent article, and as a father myself, can only hope to have a similar relationship and bond with my own daughter as she grows.

Please know that you are in our hearts and minds, and that Mary Karen will always be with those she loved, and who loved her. She touched so many in her short time, and will continue to do so from above.

May God Bless You, and Keep Mary Karen Happy and Blessed until you all meet again.

God Bless,

Dave Zulla,
Florence, New Jersey

The nation grieves with you.

A beautiful life,
that came to an end.
She died as she lived,
everyone’s friend.
In our hearts a memory,
will always be kept,
of one we loved,
and will never forget.
God Bless

Mary was such a beautiful person.

Mary Karen's face looks like she was filled with love for life. I hope and pray her loved ones can somehow find consolation at this inconsolable moment. You are not alone in your grief.

To Mary's father,
When you read your daughter Mary's favorite verse Jeremiah 29:11, it moved me greatly. Thanks for sharing that. I grieve with you and the entire family and love ones for your lost of a radiant daughter who shines inside and out.

(Jeremiah 29:11)
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

When I lost friends in Sept2001, and now hearing the sad news of what happened at VT, I often wrestled with understanding that passage Jeremiah 29:11 and Romans 8:28 until this very same tuesday evening. I just happen to hear someone speak on the 'Future Glory' on Romans 8:18-27. The HS groans and grieves deeply alongside those who suffer. But the pain during 'child birth' is temporary, for new Life comes after 'child birth'. Our hope is in the Promise (that has been Fulfilled) that when returned Home, everything will be restored and made right, and all will be glorified. There will be no more pain, sorrow and weeping, but everlasting joy with His presence.

Until then, may we choose to remember Mary and other VT victims of their beauty and the lives they touched so that we can pass on their goodness to those we encounter.

Peace and comfort to you all. We all share in your 'groaning'. God bless.

God Bless your family in this time of sorrow...

"Lost love is still love. It takes a different form, that’s all. You can’t see their smile or bring them food or tousle their hair or move them around a dance floor. But when those senses weaken, another heightens. Memory.
Memory becomes your partner. You nuture it. You hold it. You dance with it."

the world becomes a single family in tragedies of this magnitude. we send our condolence thru this website

When I first saw the photos of the victims during the news, there was something quite special about Mary. All the people who lost their lives were good and gentle souls, but Mary had such a sparkle in her eyes and a cheerful smile. After reading about her, the picture was totally right -- in fact, it did not do her justice. It is a terrible loss for the world that she is gone. There will be many future children who will not have her as their elementary teacher, and many more who will never know her beauty and kind smile.
Her father said that Mary was the daughter that every father could ever want. And yet, she could not be that way without all the love and support of her family. Hopefully her siblings will turn out as kind and gentle as she did.
I could only know Mary from the wonderful things said about her. I hope we can meet one day in heaven and I can see her smile in person myself.