The sad and moving story of Antonio Basco has managed to restore some faith in humanity.
Basco, a man from El Paso, recently took to social media to share a heartbreaking and tragic story in the aftermath of the shooting that took place in the city earlier this month.
He explained that he lost his wife, Margie Reckard, in the mass shooting where 21 others perished.
The elderly man also confessed that he and his late wife had no other living family. Basco wanted to invite the public to attend Reckard’s funeral service.
The heartbreaking Facebook post explained that neither side of the couple’s family had any surviving members left, and the man was now all alone in his tragedy.
Basco and Reckard were married for more than 20 years at the time of the tragic incident that took her life. The funeral home where the service took place posted an official invitation as well.
Harrison Johnson, funeral director at Perches Funeral Homes, revealed in the post that everyone was welcome to attend if they wanted to help the man pull through this difficult moment in his life.
Johnson said the service would take place on a Friday afternoon, and added: “Mr. Antonio Basco was Married for 22yrs to his wife Margie Reckard; He had no other family. He welcomes anyone to attend his wife’s services.”
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Many were quick to express an interest in joining. The number of people, who showed up to help Basco say goodbye to Reckard, was shocking.
Thousands of strangers from all over the country — young and old— came to show the widow love and support. The large crowd meant that the service was moved from a funeral home to La Paz Faith Memorial & Spiritual Center.
Amongst those who attended the event; singers, musicians, and the member of the mariachi band. The mourners did not come empty-handed — they came with tons of flowers and condolence cards written in English and Spanish.
Basco said, before breaking down: “I love y’ all, man.” He became overwhelmed and cried as he thanked the people who came to the funeral.
Via social media, one person praised those who took the time to be present for the man: “Thank you to every beautiful, splendid human who showed support on his most difficult day. You restore faith in humanity. Bless you, sir. We are praying for healing for your hurting heart. Your wife soars with the Angel’s. You’ll see her again. Sending our condolences from California.”
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Another commenter wrote: “This is What Makes America Great – A community together, there for each other, who sees beyond race and nationalities, a community that supports each other in the hard times. I love this!”
A third uplifting message read: “How sad it is to see this, as this poor man suffers the loss of his wife due to the mental imbalance of others, I read that his wife was the only relative he had, that beautiful gesture of those people to assist and give him support and especially not to leave him alone in a challenging time of your life.”
In the meantime, various other reports have continued to come out of El Paso, with many people sharing their own tragic stories in the aftermath of the shooting.
