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For Healing: Gathering is held in field at Graylyn, not far from scene of killings last July
Journal Photo
Lori Fioravanti's sister, Gina Gougler (left), and parents, Fran and Otello Fioravanti, at a vigil for her and Sean Gallagher.
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Published: May 17, 2009
Ten months after Lori Fioravanti and Sean Gallagher were killed, a vigil was held yesterday in their memory near the place where they died.
"I really wanted it to be here," said Otello "Frank" Fioravanti, Lori's father. "This is where she was last."
Vigils for Healing, an interfaith ministry based in Winston-Salem that helps families of murder victims, held the event on the campus of Graylyn Conference Center, in a field near the house where the two were killed on July 15, 2008.
John K. Gallaher III has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting deaths, which took place at his home on Graylyn Place Lane. Records show that Gallaher has a court date set for June 19.
Gallaher and Gallagher had been friends since middle school, and Fioravanti and Gallagher became friends while working together at the Olive Garden restaurant on Hanes Mall Boulevard. Gallaher knew Fioravanti only briefly, through Gallagher.
Police released no information about a possible motive for the crime when it occurred.
About 50 to 60 people joined Frank Fioravanti, his wife Fran, and their other daughter, Gina Gougler, at the vigil. The Fioravanti family lives in Pfafftown.
Gallagher's mother and his wife knew about the vigil and appreciated it but chose not to attend, said Tracey Maxwell, one of the founders of Vigils for Healing.
Maxwell said that the group tries to hold its observances at or near the murder site as a way of including the nearby community in the healing process.
Vigils for Healing was founded in 2006. It also acts as an advocacy group for the families of murder victims.
"We let the family know we support them, that they are not alone in their grieving," said John Huntley, another of the group's founders.
Rep. Larry Womble, D-Forsyth, has been a supporter of the group since it started and attends each vigil his schedule allows. "It's a way of showing solidarity and unity, sympathy for the family and the victims," he said. "It's a statement that we are not going to let these deaths go unnoticed."
The vigil included hymns sung by a volunteer choir; remembrances; a reading by Gougler of a poem she had written for her sister; a recitation of the names of the two and other murder victims during which a bell was rung for each name; and a candle-lighting ceremony.
"These young people didn't just die, they lived," said the Rev. Jo Bjorling, one of two ministers and a rabbi who officiated at the service. "They gave joy and enrichment to their families."
Fran Fioravanti said she has visited her daughter's grave every day since the funeral.
"It's 307 days today she's been gone," the mother said. "She touched everybody's hearts. The pain, no one could understand."
Frank Fioravanti attended another vigil held by the group before deciding to have them hold a vigil for his daughter.
"I wanted to see what it was like," he said. "It's a good thing they do. It's a good thing to remember my daughter and Sean…. Every time I remember her, it brings a smile to my face."
After the service, Gougler said that she was pleased with the turnout, though she had qualms about being so near where the shootings took place.
"Just looking in that direction is painful," she said. "But we're surrounded by so many people with good hearts, all trying to forget the ugliness.
"We want to remember them as more than victims."
■ Tim Clodfelter can be reached at 727-7371 or at tclodfelter@wsjournal.com.
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