Micronesian church victims remembered at one year anniversary

Victims of the shooting at the First Congregational Church of Neosho, which happened one year ago Tuesday, were remembered during a memorial service Saturday in Goodman. The event was covered by Joplin Globe reporter Greg Grisolano:

A steady drizzle didn’t stop hundreds of Micronesians from gathering at the home of Lovihna and the late Kernel Rehobson for a memorial service commemorating the one-year anniversary of a deadly shooting at the First Congregational Church of Neosho.

“If the weather was sunny today, I bet you it would be triple the size,” said Inderson Rehobson, Kernel Rehobson’s uncle.

The event also was a birthday party celebration for Kernel and Lovihna Rehobson’s granddaughter, Resel-Gene, who was born shortly after the shooting.

“It was 17 days after he passed away that she was born,” Lovihna Rehobson said. “He was looking forward to that granddaughter.”

A public memorial service for the victims has been scheduled for noon Tuesday at the First Congregational Church, 115 N. Wood St. in downtown Neosho. Inderson Rehobson said a portion of the ceremony will be conducted in the native language of the Micronesians.

The close-knit community of Pacific Islanders was rocked when Rehobson and two other deacons were killed by a lone gunman during church services on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007.

The Turner Report's coverage of the shooting, from the most recent posting to the earliest, can be found at this link.