The first funeral of a victim of the Boston Marathon bombing was attended by family and friends, and guarded over by hundreds of Teamsters and strangers.
MEDFORD — Margaret Regan carried a second grade class picture into Saint Joseph’s Church. She pointed to one of her former Swan School students standing in the back row, with long hair, a pink headband and a wide toothy smile. It was Krystle Campbell, who was killed last week at age 29, one of three fatalities in the Boston Marathon bombings.
“She was a very nice girl, sweet, always had a smile on. She had a lot of friends,” Regan recalled.
They came by the hundreds on Monday to remember the girl with the ever-present smile. On one side of High Street in Medford snaked a long line of mourners wearing black. On the other side were those who had never met Campbell but came to honor her and allow her family to grieve in peace, despite threats of a protest. The funeral service, which was attended by Gov. Deval Patrick and Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray, was closed to the press.
Julia Dziamba and Sydney Gaudes came to remember their former boss at the Summer Shack, which served food on the Boston Harbor Islands. They were among those who could not get into the church because it was full. “She definitely had a bubbly personality. She always had a smile on her face, even if she’s mad at you,” Dziamba said. “I could be in the crappiest mood, and she’d be there to make me smile.”
Campbell worked for years as a general manager for Jasper White’s Summer Shack Restaurants. When a group of girls struggled to carry heavy tables, or when Gaudes accidentally dropped a table, Campbell always kept her sense of humor, Dziamba and Gaudes recalled. “We were just laughing about it,” Gaudes said.
Nancy White, the ex-wife of restaurant owner Jasper White, said Campbell was one of the “best people I’d ever met working in hospitality.”
“She was talented, smart…She was one of those people who made you feel so good when you met her. She had a big smile,” White recalled.
MEDFORD - Mourners line up to get into Saint Joseph's Church for the funeral of Krystle Campbell on April 22, 2013. Led by the Teamsters, hundreds of people line the opposite side of the street to show support and protect the family from potential protests. Vincent Maxson, who did business with the Summer Shack, called Campbell “one of the most sincere, genuine people I ever met.” “She was very caring, very loving, always there for everyone,” he said.
Yet hundreds of those who stood outside for hours on the cold April morning had no memories of Campbell, but a desire to help a grieving family.
The Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas-based group known for its hate speech against gay people, has picketed the funerals of soldiers and other public events and had said it planned to protest Campbell’s funeral. It never showed. But Massachusetts residents did, led by the Teamsters.
“We want to make sure the family has a peaceful mourning process, free of any cowards that want to disrupt them,” said Sean O’Brien, president of the Teamsters Local 25. “We will take any steps necessary to make sure the families grieve without any interruptions.”
And so they came, wearing Teamsters jackets, leather bike jackets stretched across broad shoulders and “Boston Strong” T-shirts. One man climbed a tree to hang an American flag.
“We’re here to make sure that everything goes peacefully, and she gets the sendoff she deserves,” said Paul Weidenbach, a Teamsters member from Cohasset. “It’s important to stand together and do what’s right.”
MEDFORD - A man hangs an American flag from a tree outside the funeral of Boston Marathon bombing victim Krystle Campbell at Saint Joseph's church on April 22, 2013. “They make my religion look bad,” added Eva Stock, a Christian and a nurse from Delaware who was visiting her boyfriend. “Nobody should have to go through protests at their own family funeral.”
Kim Buonopane, of Malden, said she wanted to make sure the family had their privacy. “I’m here to be quiet, stand here and make sure no one bothers them,” she said.
Residents said they were heartened by the display of solidarity, which stretched for blocks. “At a time like this, it’s good to see people come together. I wouldn’t expect anything less,” said Dean Jackson of Medford, who came with other members of his motorcycle club.
For two hours, the crowd across the street from the church socialized and chatted with the media. Then the church bells began to toll. Helicopters hovered overhead.
A hearse drew up with lights flashing, preceded by a car carrying flowers and followed by a seemingly endless procession of family and friends. The police formed a human barrier in the middle of the street. White-gloved officers lined the entrance to the church and saluted.
The crowd of hundreds stood silent.