El Paso community rallies to attend funeral of shooting victim

Victim's husband with no family reaches out to strangers to attend his wife's prayer service.

When Antonio Basco lost his wife of 22 years during the recent El Paso shooting, he not only had to try and cope with the horrific loss, but with none of his own loved ones in town, he also has to face her funeral without any of his family. So Basco put out a heartbreaking request through the funeral home’s Facebook page for members of his community to come along and help him mourn his wife, Margie Reckard.

“When I met her, she was an angel, and she still is,” Basco shared with Marisa Saenz for KFOX-TV of El Paso when speaking of his late wife. He also explained how they had planned to live together and die together, but tragically this dream came to an end during the senseless shooting in Walmart on August 3 in Walmart.

What is further upsetting is that after his wife’s death, Basco now considers himself “the weak one.” Yet in reaching out for help this shows his strength and a real faith in others that can only prove valuable to him in the difficult moments ahead. And he is right to have this faith. In response to the request the El Paso community did what communities do best: they promised to come out in force today and support the grieving husband.

https://twitter.com/kessiemyheart/status/1161496849481641986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1161496849481641986&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.scarymommy.com%2Fpublic-funeral-el-paso%2F

And one of the beautiful things about social media is how quickly Basco’s request has spread. People from far and wide are pledging to send cards, flowers, and even gift cards to local restaurants through the funeral home — demonstrating to Basco that he is surrounded by love and compassion that will hopefully make him feel stronger one day.

The prayer service will be held today at 7 p.m. in El Paso, Texas, so if you’d like to offer up a prayer for Basco and his wife, Margie Reckard, we’re sure this would also be appreciated.