San Bernardino shooting victims

Remembering those killed in the mass shooting at a social service agency in San Bernardino, Calif., on Wed., Dec. 2, 2015.

Among the 14 victims:

Nicholas Thalasinos, 52, of Colton, Calif., (pictured with his wife, Jennifer), worked as a county restaurant inspector along with shooting suspect Syed Farook, and regularly discussed politics and religion, a friend, Kuuleme Stephens, told the Associated Press.

Nicholas Thalasinos

Nicholas Thalasinos identified as a Messianic Jew and was passionate about pro-Israel causes.

Thalasinos' wife, Jennifer Thalasinos, told The New York Times that her husband had talked about Syed Farook but never said anything negative.

Michael Wetzel

The slaying of environmental specialist Michael Raymond Wetzel, 37, of Lake Arrowhead, Calif., leaves his wife, Renee, and six children without a husband and father.

"Michael was the most amazing person," Renee Wetzel said in a statement, issued through a friend. The couple had five children from previous marriages and one child together.

"He was my best friend and an incredible father who was loved by all. I have never known a better person," the statement said. "He loved his work and his family so very much. Without him, this family will never be the same. We appreciate all the love and support that everyone is showing."

Robert Adams

Robert Adams, 40, of Yucaipa, Calif., leaves behind his wife, Summer, and his daughter, Savannah.

Robert Adams

Robert Adams, of Yucaipa, Calif.

Damian Meins

Damian Meins, 58, was passionate about serving his community, a message he took from the priests at his Catholic high school in Riverside and carried throughout his life.

Meins never strayed far from his church or its teachings, said Walter Hackett, who met Meins some 40 years ago in high school. "Service to others, helping others. He very much took that to heart," said Hackett.

"Damian was a good, good guy. Funny and smart and tall. A real quick smile, very friendly and outgoing," Hackett said. "It's a real hard hit for all of us who knew him."

Damian Meins

Meins married his high school sweetheart, now a Catholic school principal, and they raised two daughters, one a teacher. Meins was fondly remembered as the guy who dressed up as Santa for school pictures, according to a parent's social media posting Thursday.

In addition to working at the public health department in San Bernardino, Meins was an Extended Care Coordinator at St. Catherine of Alexandria School in Riverside, where he also helped kids create Christmas art projects and religious murals, Hackett said.

Meins received a Community Recognition Award for his work in Riverside, which was based on "compassion, courage, forgiveness, generosity, humility, inclusiveness, integrity, kindness, respect and service."

Larry Daniel Kaufman

Larry Daniel Kaufman, 42, ran a coffee shop at the Inland Regional Center, and trained developmentally-disabled clients who worked there, including people with epilepsy, autism and intellectual disabilities.

Eileen Richey, the executive director of the Association of Regional Center Agencies, said Kaufman's death "fills us with sorrow, knowing so many families are in mourning."

Kaufman, of Rialto, was an avid participant in the Original Renaissance Pleasure Faire in Southern California each spring, said friend Katherine Panowicz, who had known him for 15 years.

She said he typically participated in parades, carrying either a pennant or a lance on a make-believe horse. The fair community is devastated to lose a friend with such a big smile, she said. "It would change the entire environment of a room just because he had a big brilliant smile," she said.

Bennetta Betbadal

According to a fundraising page set up for her children, Bennetta Betbadal was born in Iran in 1969, and fled to the United States when she was 18 to escape Islamic extremism and the persecution of Christians following the Iranian Revolution. She eventually settled in California and married Arlen Verdehyou, a police officer. The Rialto, Calif., family had three children.

A graduate of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, Betbadal worked as an inspector for the San Bernardino County Health Department.

Sierra Clayborn

Friends say Sierra Clayborn, 27, of Moreno Valley, Calif., a graduate of University of California, Riverside, stood out as someone who always had an encouraging word.

Timothy J. Lee remembered meeting Clayborn in a hip-hop class at college. She was active and outgoing, praising classmates when they mastered a routine. "She always had something encouraging to say," Lee said.

After graduating in 2010, Clayborn worked jobs in retail and at a bank before landing a position at the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health. Like a number of other victims, she inspected restaurants.

Matthew Peairs, 27, a manager at Red Baron Pizza in Big Bear Lake, California, said Clayborn visited the restaurant a day before the shooting to complete an inspection. "She was one of the nicest health inspectors that we've ever had," he said. "She talked to us like normal people, not just doing her job."

He said they discussed their holiday plans and she mentioned she was going to the department's Christmas party Wednesday. "She was stoked about the party," Peairs said.

Sierra Clayborn

Sierra Clayborn.

Sierra's sister, Tamishia Cayborn, wrote on Facebook, "RIP Baby sis I love you more than you ever knew. You were taken too soon. My heart is broken. I am completely devastated..."

Yvette Velasco

Yvette Velasco, 27, of Fontana was one of the youngest victims of the shooting. Her family released a statement describing her as intelligent and motivated.

"Yvette was an intelligent, motivated, and beautiful young woman, who was full of life and loved by all who knew her. We are devastated about what happened, and are still processing this nightmare," the statement read. "We ask that you please respect our family's privacy in order to grieve our loss. Yvette is survived by her parents, Robert and Marie Velasco, and her three sisters, Adriana, Erica, and Genevieve. Please pray for our family and the other families who have lost a loved one as a result of this terrible tragedy."

Aurora Godoy

"Yesterday in the shootings in San Bernardino many families were affected. Ours was one of them," Rebecca Godoy wrote on Facebook regarding her niece, 26-year-old Aurora Godoy, of San Jacinto.

Aurora Godoy

Aurora Godoy was a wife and mother of an infant son when she was killed in the attack, Rebecca Godoy said in a Facebook post. "We will keep her flame alive so that her young son does not forget his special mother."

Cindy Quinones, a cousin of Godoy's, said her husband was devastated by the death of his wife. "I feel like numb. It hasn't hit us yet. We're still trying to make sense of all this," Quinones said at a vigil held Thursday night in San Bernardino.

Tin Nyugen

Born in Vietnam, Tin Nyugen, 31, was a food inspector with the county health department. She lived in Santa Ana.

"Her heart was bigger than the sun and her personality was addicting," wrote friend Kim Oanh on Facebook.

She was supposed to get married at a Catholic church in 2017, her family told media outlets, and had been planning the wedding alongside her mother.

The day before Nguyen was killed, she celebrated her fiance's 32nd birthday.

Shannon Johnson

Shannon Johnson, 45, lived in Los Angeles, a long commute to San Bernardino County where he worked as a health inspector.

He rose before dawn every morning to get to his job from his home in Koreatown, which he shared with his girlfriend, Mandy Pfifer, who was a longtime member of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti's Crisis Response Team.

The mayor's office said in a statement Thursday night that "we have learned that one of our own ... is among those who lost their lives."

Juan Espinoza

Juan Espinoza, 50 of Highland, was a health inspector with San Bernardino County. A Mexican federal official said Espinoza was born in Mexico and emigrated to the United States more than 20 years ago.

He was remembered by a former co-worker, Scott Wyatt, as "a simple guy, quiet, a person who didn't like attention, just liked to do what he had to do.

"This hits close to home."

Wyatt met Espinoza about 10 years ago when Wyatt worked in a juvenile court teacher and Espinoza was a corrections officer.

Harry Bowman

Harry Bowman, 46, of Upland, worked as a statistical analyst for the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health, his family said, and is remembered as a loving father to his two daughters.

A dedicated member of the Roman Catholic Church, who was raised in Pennsylvania, Bowman frequently taught religious classes. He also loved the outdoors, and spent much of his free time hiking.

"This is a tragic loss for our family, much like it is for all families around the world who have experienced this kind of violence," the family said in a statement. "There are no words that express our sadness in losing such a special person."

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf also released a statement offering his condolences to Bowman's family after the "senseless violence."

Isaac Amanios

Isaac Amanios, 60, was a supervising environmental health specialist. The Los Angeles Times wrote that Amanios is survived by his wife and three children.

NFL player Nat Berhe, who is from San Bernardino, wrote on Twitter that Amanios was a relative. "Just got word that one of my cousins was among the 14 killed yesterday, I'm so sick right now," Berhe wrote.

"He was a great human being. Thoughts and prayers are with my family back in CA."

Memorial Service

People hold candles during a vigil for shooting victims on Thursday, Dec. 3, 2015, at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, Calif.