HOLBROOK, N.Y. — Mourners filed into a Holbrook funeral home Sunday morning to pay their respects to Gabrielle Petito, the 22-year-old Blue Point, Long Island, native whose body was found in a Wyoming national park and who was later declared a homicide victim.
Her father, Joseph Petito, and stepfather, Jim Schmidt, gave emotional eulogies about the young woman, remembered for her kind heart and zest for life.
"I don’t want you guys to be sad," Joseph Petito said. "Gabby didn’t live that way … people gravitated towards her. Her nature was always to smile."
Petito recalled how his daughter loved adventures and activities such as scuba diving and hiking.
He said he wanted people — men and women — to be inspired by her spirit
"If there is a trip you guys want to take, take it," he said.
Schmidt said Gabby's enthusiasm helped remind him there is more to life than work.
Gabby, said Schmidt, a former Blue Point Fire Chief, is "an example for all of us to enjoy every moment — love and give love to all like she did."
Inside the funeral home, flowers and family photos of Gabby lined the wall. The crowd of mourners and memorials continued outside, where two ladder trucks held a banner with a heart. Teal-colored bows and angel wings marked the fence to Seneca Middle School, with Petito's picture and the messages "She touched the World" and "Forever in our Hearts."
Petito had been on a cross-country trip with her fiance, Brian Laundrie, when she disappeared. Petito's family reported her missing on Sept. 11, about two weeks after she ceased communication with them and Laundrie returned to his parents' Florida home alone in her van. Petito's body was found Sept. 19 in Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Laundrie, whose whereabouts are unknown, has been named a person of interest in her homicide and is wanted on a federal arrest warrant for alleged credit card fraud. He has not been directly charged in connection with her death.
Visitors received prayer cards to pass by an empty urn to signify Gabby’s presence while her remains are in Wyoming.
The prayer card depicts a painting of Gabby for the family by an Australian artist. On the back, is a poem, "Let it Be," written by Gabby’s father, Jospeh Petito.
"Do not grieve for me for I am free
I am traveling a path the lord has taken me
Be not burdened with times of sorrow
I wish for you the sunshine of tomorrow
Perhaps my time seemed too brief
Do not lengthen it with undue grief
Lift up your hearts and share with me
The memories that will always be."
Barry Bernstein, 70, of Port Jefferson Station, said he didn’t know the family, but he walked through the memorial and left flowers across the street.
"It just struck a nerve and I wanted to be here," Bernstein said. "It’s very upsetting, and the reaction has been very surprising. Because of her age and the circumstances, it was absolutely horrendous and I felt compelled to be here."
