Crime & Safety
'Together In Eternity'
More than 600 people attended a memorial service Saturday at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert.
Felipe Lozano died holding his daughter in his arms, trying to protect her during a mass-shooting last week in Palm Desert.
And that's where 2-year-old Doria Lozano-Reynoso will remain.
"They were together in life. They were together in death. They are together in this casket and now they are together in eternity,'' said Father Howard A. Lincoln during a memorial service at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Desert. "They were never more alive than right now."
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More than 600 people filled the church on Deep Canyon Road near Fred Waring Drive for the 1 p.m. Saturday, April 16 service.
The priest said he spoke on Friday to Doria's mother and her grandmother, 43-year-old Afra Lozano, who survived the shooting with two gunshot wounds to her leg.
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"Afra said in English ... 'I saw my son Felipe die. I even feel sorry for the family of (Juan Carlos) Alcala,''' Father Lincoln told the congregation, referring to the alleged shooter who surrendered himself into custody shortly after the April 8 shooting. Alcala, the Lozano's neighbor, is due in court next week for arraignment.
The priest recounted that Doria's mother said she didn't blame God for her daughter's death.
"(She said) please forgive me that I wasn't with my daughter,'' he said.
Father Lincoln added that he was amazed at the spirit of forgiveness in their words.
"We have two moms showing me how to be holy,'' he said. "The very first heart break when they were shot was God's."
At the end of the service, which was 90 percent in Spanish, family members followed out the casket carrying balloons, which were released outside.
The burial will be held Tuesday at the Coachella Valley Cemetery in Coachella.
In lieu of flowers, the Lozano family has asked for donations to an account at Chase Bank called the "Lozano Memorial Fund Trust." The account number is 3026249908. Donations are accepted at any Chase branch location.
Also, a car wash will be held at 8 a.m. Sunday, April 17 at Palm Desert High School to raise funds for the funeral costs.
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