A funeral is being held today for a 30-year-old woman killed in the van attack in North York last week.
Anne Marie D’Amico, an employee at investment management company Invesco, was among the 10 killed when a van plowed into pedestrians on a sidewalk along a busy stretch of Yonge Street in Willowdale on April 23.
Following two days of visitations, a funeral is underway this morning at St. Clare’s Catholic Church on St. Clair Avenue West.
Speaking outside the church this morning, John Simonetti, a close family friend, read a statement on behalf of the family.
Her family highlighted D’Amico’s love of springtime and sunshine.
“She especially loved the warm light that the month of May brought. It was a signal that the summer sunshine that she loved most would soon be here and outdoor life in our great city would come alive,” the statement said, adding that D’Amico had a “warmth” and “lightness” that the family will miss “beyond words.”
“Today we ask that you continue to feel the sun, the lightness, and the warmth of being that Anne Marie and others must have felt walking outside that balmy spring afternoon last week.”
The family said the loss has been “very painful” and offered condolences to the families and friends of the other nine victims killed in the attack.
“We can imagine that the family and friends of the nine others who shared the same fate are going through the same pain and we want to say to them that we are also truly sorry for your loss and we pray for all of you,” the statement said.
“We also pray for the family of the driver of the van. They too are grieving.”
The family asked that Torontonians remember “the unwavering collective good of our city.”
“We believe it is our obligation to all those affected by this tragedy, especially to those who died, to be better to one another, better by giving and caring more, that is what Anne Marie would have wanted,” the statement continued.
They thanked paramedics, medical staff, police, and those members of the public who jumped into action to help at the scene of the carnage.
They specifically thanked one man who was with D’Amico during her final moments.
“To Rob Greco, who lay there comforting Anne Marie, we had the honour to meet Rob and he will be forever be entrenched in our family,” the statement said. “He was another shining example of the kindness that Anne Marie and this beautiful city has to offer.”
They concluded their comments by encouraging discussions about how to learn from the tragedy.
“We hope that going forward, as broken hearts heal, we will have conversations,” the statement said.
“We will have conversations about how we will collectively learn from this tragedy, not in hate or retribution, but with understanding and respect if only because that is what Anne Marie would have wanted.”
Funerals for Dorothy Sewell and Geraldine Brady, two others killed in the devastating attack, have already been held.
Alek Minassian, the 25-year-old man accused in the deadly incident, has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.
More attempted murder charges are expected to be laid against Minassian in connection with three others who were injured in the attack, police previously said.
