Hundreds of friends and relatives gathered to mourn the deaths of Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew, at Pleasant Gift Memorial Baptist Church on Chicago’s South Side on Sunday.
At the public memorial, mourners listened to songs and recounted stories about Darnell Donerson, 57, Jason Hudson, 29, and Julian King, who were fatally shot last month.
Jennifer and her sister Julia Hudson were not in attendance.
Shari Sweat, a cousin of Donerson, spoke about how important the upcoming election was to her, the Associated Press reported.
“Doll refused to be left out of this historical moment in this nation, and before she left these shores she cast her vote,” Sweat said.
Julian’s second-grade teacher, Carmen Williams of Gunsaulus Scholastic Academy, read from journals of his classmates, the AP reported.
“Julian was smart. I’m sad he didn’t get to be president of the United States,” Williams read.
Reverend Quentin Washington recalled being in the children’s choir at the church with Hudson’s brother, Jason.
“We had fun at church,” he said, according to the The Chicago Tribune.
Sean Howard, executive assistant to Cook County Board President Todd Stroger, said he was with the Hudson family when they went to the medical examiner’s office last week to identify Julian’s body, the AP reported.
“When Jennifer and her family walked in, Jennifer was a pillar in that room,” Howard said. “You have a true leader in your family in Jennifer.”
William Balfour, Julia’s ex husband, is being held as a “person of interest” in the case. Chicago Police say the murders are “domestic-related.”
The newest issue of Us Weekly reports that Hudson family members didn’t take Balfour’s threats seriously.
Jennifer and her sister also created the Hudson-King Foundation for Families of Slain Victims in the wake of the tragic deaths, according to a statement from Jennifer’s rep.
The foundation will provide care for the families who have lost relatives to a violent crime, including giving food, clothing, shelter and grief counseling.
Donations can be sent to:
Hudson-King Foundation:
c/o Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson, LLP
Attn: William L. Abrams, Esq.
237 West 35th Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001
(source)
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