The Northern Nevada community began saying its final goodbye to 26-year old Jonathan Blunk, the Sparks man killed in the Colorado movie theater shooting.
A public viewing was held Thursday at the Mountain View Mortuary in Reno.
"The daughter, she's kind of struggling a little bit," said Blunk family spokesperson, Kim Young. "She went by the casket and wanted her daddy to wake up."
Dozens made their way into the mortuary to pay their final respects to Blunk. We respected the family's wishes and stayed outside, away from the public viewing.
Young says the family's making it through these difficult times.
"He's going to be missed by his wife and the kids, and the community."
We were at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport last week when Blunk's body arrived on a plane from Denver.
Family, friends and a Patriot Guard closely followed the hearse carrying Blunk's casket to Mountain View Mortuary.
Blunk was a father of two young children and graduated from Hug High School in 2004. He also served three tours of duty, something family and friends say they're most proud of.
"He served his country very proudly," Young said. "That's the big thing, and he was a great dad."
Several groups and community members have reached out to help the Blunk family.
"It feels good just to know that we're doing this for him, and I think he would have been proud of that," Young said. "The family is right now."
On Friday, there is a full military funeral service that is also open to the public. That is once again being held at the Mountain View Mortuary on Stoker Avenue and begins at 9 a.m.
There's also been an account set up to help the Blunk family. To donate, just head to any Wells Fargo bank branch.
Written by Adam Rasmussen
