For 'Wichita's son' - Lucas Hernandez - they've planned a fitting memorial
The organizer and clergy men had a heartfelt message to get out Monday, just days before the public memorial service for 5-year-old Lucas Hernandez.
— That Saturday’s service “is about Lucas’ life, not about his death,” said the Rev. Jeff Gannon.
— That “I hope that the building (where the service will be held) is overflowing for Lucas’ sake,” said organizer Sheila Medlam. “I want this family to know that he was loved.”
The service will begin at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wichita State University’s Hughes Metropolitan Complex, 5015 E. 29th St. North, off Oliver and just south of K-96.
Lucas is the Wichita prekindergarten student who had been missing for more than three months until May 24, when his body was found under a remote bridge in Harvey County. Police said his father’s live-in girlfriend, Emily Glass, led a private investigator to the body. Police are still investigating Lucas’ death and Glass’ death about two weeks later after the boy’s body was found. Police said Glass' body was found with a gun near her feet and that her death was reported as a suicide.
Medlam, a leader of one of the teams that had searched for Lucas and now one of the organizers of the memorial service, has called Lucas “Wichita’s son.”
On Monday afternoon, Medlam, Gannon and Father Terry Hedrick met with reporters to discuss plans for the Saturday’s service.
Reading from a statement, Gannon said, “the focus of the service will be on Lucas’ life and who he was as a boy, a son, a sibling, a grandson, a friend and a student at Beech Elementary School here in Wichita.”
“We recognize, as faith leaders, that the community has been traumatized by the events surrounding Lucas’ life and death,” Gannon said. “Therefore, we need this service to be a means of healing and hope.”
The service is “an opportunity on behalf of Lucas and his family to express appropriate gratitude for all of those who supported the family and the community in trying to resolve a tragic situation.”
Gannon and Hedrick will officiate at the service. Although it will begin at 1 p.m., doors will open at 11 a.m. to help prevent congestion and so people can sign guest books and view items left in memory of Lucas near the bridge where his body was found, the planners said.
The building, including the auditorium and overflow rooms that might be needed, will have space for about 2,300 people Saturday. The planners said they wanted to thank Wichita State for making the facility available.
The service is expected to last about 90 minutes.
This story was originally published June 25, 2018 at 5:50 PM with the headline "For 'Wichita's son' - Lucas Hernandez - they've planned a fitting memorial."