The family of the late Gabby Petito gathered last Sunday to honor the life of the 22-year-old woman whose disappearance and subsequent death sparked national headlines. At a memorial service held at the Moloney Holbrook Funeral Home in New York, the family passed out a prayer card that stated:
Do not grieve for me, for I am free. I am traveling a path the Lord has taken me. Be not burdened with times of sorrow. I wish for you the sunshine of tomorrow. Perhaps my time seemed too brief. Do not lengthen it with undue grief. Lift up your hearts and share with me the memories that will always be.
Joe Petito, Gabby’s father, delivered a eulogy at the service, telling the hundreds of mourners in attendance not to “be sad” over his daughter’s death.
“I don’t want you guys to be sad,” he said. “Gabby didn’t live that way. That wasn’t her way. … If you knew Gabby, she was always a happy girl. People would gravitate to her, her nature was always to smile and treat everybody kind. She always made people feel welcome. … She always treated people with respect. It didn’t really matter. … She cared.”
He also warned those at the service to immediately leave relationships “that might not be the best thing for you,” alluding to his daughter’s relationship with fiancé Brian Laundrie, for whom law enforcement officials are searching.
“I want you to take a look at these pictures, and I want you to be inspired by Gabby,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking for; that’s something that I want to see. If there’s a trip you guys want to take, take it. Now. Do it now, while you have the time. If there is a relationship that you’re in that might not be the best thing for you, leave it. Now.”
Gabby Petito left New York with Laundrie on July 2 for a road trip to Colorado and Utah. The last time Petito was seen alive was in Jackson Hole on Aug. 27. She was reported missing Sept. 11 and human remains matching her description were discovered Sept. 19.