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By John Rieping - and Valarie Kemp

Mourners pay their respect to the late Krista-Rae Pike during a visitation at Smith Manor Grace Chapel on Friday. Her body will be cremated.

Photo by: Wendy Alexander

A steady flow of friends, family and acquaintances passed through Smith Manor Grace Chapel from 2 to 8 p.m. Friday to bid farewell to Krista-Rae Pike, whose body lay in an open coffin surrounded by flower arrangements and various mementos left by family and friends.

Her sister, 21-year-old Samantha Pike, gave birth to a healthy baby boy the day before the visitation, and even a mention of the arrival brought a smile to the otherwise sober face of Russel Pike, father of Krista-Rae.

"My family has been coping quite well under the circumstances, mainly due to the support of our family, friends and the public," he said. "The community support has been tremendous and I know the reason for that is my daughter. Krista-Rae touched the lives of everyone she met. She's even touched the lives of those she never had the opportunity to meet, which my family has seen in the past few days."

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Webmaster's note: A Web page featuring memories, video and poetry about 18-year-old Krista Pike can be found on www.MaderaTribuneRedLine.com

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The body of Krista-Rae will be cremated, he said, and lockets will be made to contain some of her remains. The remainder will rest in a place she favored in life, perhaps where she and her father would fish.

Although the Pike family were not active members of any church, he said, "Krista was the biggest fan of our Lord and Savior. She would go to any (Christian) church function with me or with her friends. She had the heart of an angel and she is an angel today."

Since the death of Krista-Rae Pike, her fiance Thomas Hollier and his father Lynn have stayed "with family, because the house does not feel like a home any more," said Gwen Perdue, aunt of Thomas Hollier. But Hollier did return there Friday morning to retrieve a love poem he had written for Pike on January 12 and which he read aloud during the visitation.

"Nobody wanted me to go back in there, but I felt it was something I had to do," Hollier said. "I got the letter (containing the poem) and put a rose down where her body was when I found it."

He had originally written the poem to Pike on a mirror in the house. When she read it she began to cry and asked him to write it down. The poem begins, "Our two souls moving as one together - they are unbreakable, able to withstand all that tries to break them, all that hell can throw at them, able to outlast time itself. Together our souls are indestructible, but when broken apart our souls are as brittle as the frost on the morning grass ..."

Hollier's mother, Nancy, smiled when asked how her son was coping with the loss and said, "I'm very proud of him. He's been holding up very well." But when a friend came over a moment later with the same question she replied quietly, "Its a rollercoaster but he's doing okay."

Thomas Hollier still plans to serve in the United States Navy this year, and will be leaving Sept. 1st for boot camp in Great Lakes, Ill. Previously, Hollier was set to leave on July 15th, but the military moved back the date.

"My sister called him (Hollier's recruiter) the same day (as the death)," Thomas Hollier said. "He actually showed up on the scene. He's been here every chance he's been able to. He's been a real man about it. He wants me to take time to get myself together."

Hollier said he does not understand how this tragedy came to pass. He knew both suspects, 19-year-old Dustin Robert Gran III and 16-year-old Brittany Navarra. He had only dated Navarra for a brief time, he said.

"I broke up with her the second day Krista was in town - that way I could go out with Krista," he said. "We had broken up before, but we got back together again because she (Brittany) made me feel bad by crying."

Hollier was introduced to Gran by a mutual friend, whom he nicknamed "the freshman."

"With him he'd come over talking about what kind of weapons he had and that sort of stuff, because he knew I liked weaponry. After I broke up with Brittany he started going out with her."

Russel Pike hopes that his family's loss will help change the outlook of those in the community to love each other generously, openly and without grudges.

"Times are difficult. Youth are not getting the guidance they need about the true meaning of life. They take it for granted. They say, 'Tomorrow we'll go there and do that,' but there may not be a tomorrow."

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WestAmerica Bank, 401 W. Yosemite Ave., is taking donations, payable to "Nancy Hollier T/F Krista Pike Memorial" on behalf of the Pike family.

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John Rieping News Editor, Webmaster The Madera Tribune online subscription To subscribe or log on, CLICK HERE. For more information first, CLICK HERE.