Mourners say goodbye to victims of Arizona flash flood

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona -- To the strains of "Ave Maria," more than 1,000 people said goodbye Tuesday to 10 members of an extended family who lost their lives in a flash flood while celebrating a birthday in Arizona.

The 10 white caskets belonging to three generations of a Mexican immigrant family were arranged in two rows facing the altar at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Scottsdale, each one bearing a metal crucifix inside its satin-lined lid.

They died together in mere seconds when a dark torrent of water rushed through a placid swimming hole on July 15, killing a grandmother, aunts and uncles, children and grandchildren.

Two male soloists sang Schubert's traditional song at a funeral Mass celebrated in English and Spanish that was surprisingly upbeat. The Rev. Eric Tellez remembered the family as hardworking people, many of whom worked in the restaurant industry preparing food for other people, a pursuit the pastor likened to a ministry.

His co-officiant was the Rev. Ed Lucero, a priest in the central Arizona town of Payson close to where the family died who blessed each of the victims after their bodies were pulled from the water.

Hector Miguel Garnica, 26, was the last member of the family to be found and was positively identified just in time to be included in the funeral Mass.

His wife, Maria del Carmen Raya Garcia, was killed as they celebrated her 27th birthday, along with their three small children: Hector Daniel, 7, Mia, 5, and Emily, 3.

At Tuesday's Mass, several dozen mourners wore white T-shirts printed with a photograph of the couple, along with their three children. "In Loving Memory," the shirts read.

Also killed was Raya Garcia's mother, Selia Garcia Castaneda, 57; Raya Garcia's brother Javier Raya Garcia, 19; her sister Maribel Raya Garcia, 24; Maribel's daughter Erika Janel Camacho Raya, 2; and Jonatan Leon Villanueva, a grandson of Selia Garcia who would have turned 13 next month.

The group was swept away when a flash flood from a thunderstorm upstream rushed through the swimming area. Authorities have said the family had no warning.

Another flash flood just over a week later trapped 17 hikers in a scenic canyon in southern Arizona. Rescuers had to pluck some of the hikers, including a 4-year-old boy, from a mountain creek swollen by floodwaters Sunday, but everyone survived.

In the deadly flood, those who knew Hector Garnica have said he was a hardworking family man whose positive demeanor was widely known at the numerous restaurants that employed him as a cook over the years.

"Their family is very well known throughout this town," Tom Price previously told CBS affiliate KPHO.

Price was closest to Hector Ganica and knew him for at least 20 years.

"I always used to just mess with him, you know, because I was older than him," Price said. "We started hanging out and you know working together at a few different restaurants and we became very good friends."

Maria Raya Garcia was known for her kind manner and deep dedication to her job in a restaurant kitchen.

"I thought it was like a dream; I was hoping it wasn't real," said Ray Lopez, kitchen manager at El Encanto restaurant, where she worked.

Last week, he recalled Raya Garcia's joy when he allowed her to take her birthday weekend off despite a busy schedule. Lopez said he and the rest of the restaurant staff are deeply upset by the loss of their friend and co-worker.

"I'm OK when I'm here at home," Lopez said. "When I go there and she's not there -- that's when I have a hard time."

Four other relatives survived the flash flood. Esthela Abigail Atondo was rescued, and her aunt Sonia Atondo said her niece still isn't talking about what happened.

"I saw her and hugged her, but she didn't say anything," said the elder Atondo, who traveled from Seattle to attend the funeral. "She didn't want to say anything."

Esthela Atondo was rescued with her husband, who was related to the other family; their 1-year-old daughter; and his 8-year-old son from a previous relationship. The aunt said she did not know the people who died.

"I think it is a thing of God that they were saved," Sonia Atondo said of her family who was rescued.

Questions have arisen about whether the government should or could have done more to warn the public about the dangers of floodwaters in wilderness areas.

Officials have said members of the extended family who died in the flood had no warning about the approaching surge of water.

There is no system currently in place to specifically warn people about the potential dangers of flash floods at the Tonto National Forest where the deadly incident occurred.