Vigil held 1 year after flooding killed 7 in Upper Makefield Township to remember lives lost
UPPER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. (CBS) -- One year ago, flash flooding killed seven people in Upper Makefield Township.
On Monday night, a vigil was held to remember the lives lost and a community forever changed.
Pastor George Clash led the ceremony on the grounds of the Washington Crossing United Methodist Church just up the hill from where heavy rain washed away a bridge and several cars. It also served as a command center on that fateful night.
"We know that we heal best in community," Clash said. "We know that people are still very much feeling the loss of the pain of this tragedy."
Paul Sheils lost his 2-year-old granddaughter, Mattie, and 9-month-old grandson, Conrad, along with his daughter-in-law, Katie.
"I suspect none of us will fully ever understand or forget the unthinkable tragedy that struck our family and the other families last summer," Sheils said to a crowd of several hundred who gathered.
Zack DePiero lost his mom and dad, Linda and Enzo.
"The bigger you are, the harder you fall. And for us, we had a Goliath-sized love," DePiero said of his parents.
David Love was able to get to safety but his wife, Yuko, did not survive.
"Yuko greatly enriched my life. I am now much poorer without her," Love said.
Susan Barnhart also died in the high waters. The ceremony included a recognition to the first responders who helped rescue those trapped, along with a dedication of the site as a future community prayer garden -- a place to forever remember those lost.