As his 16-year-old son was laid to rest, the father of one of the five adolescents murdered in the horrific crash southwest of Sydney unveiled a fresh tattoo on his skull in his memory.
At the fifth and last memorial ceremony for the five teenagers who passed away in Buxton on September 6th, friends and family gathered at Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Monday afternoon to bid goodbye to Antonio Desisto.
Many of the hundreds of people that poured out of the tiny church and onto the lawn had just left Summer Williams’ service, which had only finished a little over two hours earlier.
The crowd included Lily van de Putte’s father John and her older sister Brittany as well as Tyrese Bechard’s grandparents and aunt Rebecca.
On Thursday and Friday, respectively, Tyrese and Summer were buried.
Some people wore black t-shirts with angel wings emblazoned on the back that said, “In loving memory of Antonio Desisto.”
The white casket of the 16-year-old was decorated with red, orange, and white flowers.
Exaven, Antonio’s father, and his wife arrived to the funeral home while playing the Guns N’ Roses song Paradise City as they made their way to the casket of their son.
His son’s name and a huge flower were freshly inked on his left earlobe.
Mr. Desisto’s voice quivered as he spoke a devastating message to his son and other family members.
He murmured, “To my one and only boy.”
“Everything you ate and received was blessed by you.” I am such a proud father that words cannot express it. You have illuminated the world with your unwavering love and grace. My heart is now divided in two.
All the families whose children were lost in the “senseless disaster” received Mr. Desisto’s “deepest love and grief,” he said.
“To keep such a great man to myself is selfish on my part.” You carried the breath that the Lord gave me.
You were my life’s love, Tony, my brother. We must part ways today, my brother, despite how difficult it is to do so.
“I will always love you.” Take it easy.
Angelina, Antonio’s sister, praised her sibling for having a fantastic sense of humor and going above and beyond to make others happy.
“No words can adequately convey what a wonderful person he was.” He always managed to surprise and amuse me, she remarked.
He once claimed to have used all of his pocket money to buy me a can of baked beans for Christmas.
“Tony, I couldn’t have been prouder of you. I adore you a lot.
It was impossible to explain her son, who was “such a wonderful spirit,” Belinda Desisto said while her voice was quivering in front of the mourners.
Words simply cannot describe our son, she remarked.
“Always grinning, he enjoyed his life to the fullest.” You made a huge impact on so many individuals. I’m very grateful that he chose me as his mommy.
“I will always live for you, Tony boy, and always cherish you.”
Laying Anthony to readiness, according to Anthony’s aunt Shelly, “may be the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.”
She added, “You lived and took care of your entire family.”
“I will treasure and cling onto our final phone call,”
Because Antonio was so young, the pastor acknowledged that it was a very challenging day.
He stated, “As brief as his existence was, he genuinely transformed you and continues to live through you.”
He urged everyone to make time for Antonio.
Celebrate his birthday, be there for his parents on those occasions, and do your best to make those occasions special. Your large number and your presence now are due to this.
We all appear to want to put the blame on ourselves. Perhaps we could have put a halt to it or taken action. Tormenting ourselves with what-if scenarios is not the real solution. The best solution is to be forgiving.
You can imagine many outcomes in your head, but there is no benefit to doing so. Every every day, mistakes are made by everyone. We cannot travel back in time and cannot alter the past.
The ability to forgive is the actual key.
His family exited the chapel to the song “welcome to the black march” by My Chemical Romance after the service concluded with a reading from the Bible and prayer.
Hundreds of family members were there to embrace him and offer their sorrow as his grieving parents stepped outside carrying pictures of Antonio and flowers.
The five teenagers were killed when the truck they were riding in flipped and hit two trees. Their deaths have been mourned by the close-knit Wollondilly community.
In order to show their support for Summer Williams, 14, mourners were urged to wear pink ribbons to her memorial service at St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Picton earlier on Monday.
Friends and family of 15-year-old Gabby McLennan met at Leppington over the weekend to mourn the high school student and local soccer player while donning sky blue, Gabby’s favorite color.
Lily Van De Putte, 14, was laid to rest at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Tahmoor on Friday. She will be remembered for her compassionate personality.
Lily’s father John Van De Putte remarked at the memorial service that Lily “not only was she gorgeous, she had a beautiful heart.”
To allow students and instructors to attend the funerals, face-to-face instruction at Picton High School, where all of the teenagers attended, has been moved online until Tuesday.
The victims are being remembered locally with balloon memorials, each of which is colored differently in honor of a different teen.
Wollondilly Shire Mayor Matt Gould described the situation as “very very distressing” for the community, and the council established a mayoral relief fund to provide aid to the families of the fatalities.
Tyrell Edwards, 18, the driver of the ute, is currently in detention after being charged with five charges of hazardous driving resulting in death. He will return to court on Monday.