Tears fall as last of Newtown’s little victims are laid to rest

Tears fall as last of Newtown’s little victims are laid to rest

They are all buried now, but how they lived and how they died will never be forgotten.

The last three funerals for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre were held Saturday.

Josephine Gay, 7, and Ana Marquez-Greene, 6, were eulogized in Connecticut, while 6-year-old Emilie Parker was honored in Utah, where she was born.

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Their tiny caskets not only told of innocence lost, but compounded the pain of an unfathomable crime that has shaken the foundation of the country.

“This is a horrible tragedy and it makes no sense to us. We have a lot of issues before us. And if you haven’t been angry, get angry,” Msgr. Robert Weiss said at Josephine’s funeral.

“If these 20 children cannot change this world, no one will. They did not die in vain,” Weiss said.

Weiss stared out a sea of purple as mourners filled the pews of St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown wearing Josephine’s favorite color instead of traditional black.

Josephine, whom friends and relatives called “Joey,” was among the most vulnerable of the 20 children shot to death in cold blood by suicidal gunman Adam Lanza.

The little girl, who turned 7 three days before her life was taken, suffered from autism and a severe neurological disorder called apraxia. She couldn’t speak, but she expressed love to everyone she came in contact with, her heartbroken parents told mourners.

Born in Maryland, she was a Baltimore Ravens fan and liked everything in Ravens’ purple.

“She touched so many people,” her father, Bob Gay, said in an emotional eulogy. “She did not care about prestige or possessions. She calls all of us to be better.”

Joey’s mother, Michele, added, “Our daughter was here to teach us.”

She joined her husband in listing the life lessons they learned from their daughter.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff, because it’s all small stuff,” said her father.

“You really cannot appreciate a movie until you’ve watched it at least 300 times,” said the mother, bringing smiles to the crowd as she described one of her daughter’s favorite pastimes.

She said the best lesson she learned from Joey was, “Never give up on people. It may take a while, but eventually they will get it.”

Rick Bowmer/AP

Alissa Parker, left, and her husband, Robbie Parker, center, carry their daughters following funeral services for their 6-year old daughter, Connecticut elementary shooting victim, Emilie Parker, Saturday, Dec. 22, 2012.

At a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Ogden, Utah, grieving family and friends of Emilie Parker turned out wearing her favorite color â€" pink.

Throughout Ogden, pink bows, ribbons and angels were attached to trees and street signs. Strangers wearing pink even lined the streets leading from the church to the cemetery when Emilie was laid to rest next to her grandfather, who was killed a month ago in a bicycle race.

Emilie was described by family and friends as well-mannered and insightful for her age.

The blond-haired, blue-eyed girl was also remembered for her wonderful sense of humor. She was nicknamed “Boo” because she resembled the character with that name from the movie “Monsters, Inc.”

The funeral was held in a church across the street from the Ben Lomond High School, where Emilie’s parents, Robbie and Alissa Parker, first met.

The parents emerged from the funeral holding their two other daughters, Madeline and Samantha, both dressed in pink coats.

“I want you to know as we saw all of the ribbons and all of the effort you put into that, it made me and Alissa really feel like we were getting a big hug from everybody,” Robbie Parker said at a public memorial service this week.

In Bloomfield, Conn., a carriage drawn by two white horses brought Ana Marquez-Greene’s body to the First Cathedral Church.

Harry Connick Jr. and Javier Colon, the Hartford singer who won “The Voice” TV competition last year, both serenaded mourners with soulful tunes.

“We’ve come to celebrate Ana Grace Marquez-Greene,” said Archbishop Leroy Bailey. “The only difference now is that she lives in our hearts.”

Ana’s father, jazz saxophonist Jimmy Greene, and mother, Nelba, sat in the front row as musicians played the Latin music their daughter loved.

The parents even managed to laugh at the memories of Ana singing and dancing.

During the service, home videos were played of Ana singing “I’m a Little Teapot” and “Dame la Mano Paloma (Give Me Your Hand),” her favorite Spanish song.

Mourners said Ana loved music so much she would dance from room to room even where there was no music playing.

“Today, we gather here to say that love has triumphed,” said Pastor Myrta Marquez, who traveled from Puerto Rico to attend the funeral.

The Rev. Paul Echtenkamp said the girl was born with a musical gift.

“Ana had a song. It just came out of her,” Echtenkamp said.

Family friend Charlene Diehl remembered Ana as as a “sharp, intelligent, sweet, curious girl.”

Ana’s service was also broadcast live at the Grant Memorial Baptist Church in Winnipeg, Canada, where the family lived before moving to Newtown.

-With Matthew Lysiak

whutchinson@nydailynews.com