Family and friends have identified Jenifer Darbellay as one of the 11 people killed in an alleged attack at Vancouver’s Lapu-Lapu Day festival on Saturday.
Speaking at a Monday evening vigil, Noel Johansen said his wife was behind him when she died.
Johansen, who was using crutches, said his physical injury does not compare to the heartache of losing his wife.
“Everyone who’s hugged me since then, I felt her,” he said.
“She never celebrated herself in her life. She never thought of herself. She thought of herself as small in terms of the reach, and I can tell you, she was larger than life.”
According to an online fundraiser, the couple has two children, aged seven and 15. The campaign had raised over $130, 000 as of Wednesday morning.
Munisha Tumato, the Parents Advisory Council vice chair for Sir Alexander Mackenzie Elementary School, said Darbellay was one of the PAC’s co-chairs, and was an active member in the community.
“She was a friend to many, many people,” Tumato said on CBC’s On The Coast.
“She was an incredible mother and an incredible human and we all loved her very, very much.”
The incident happened a few blocks from the school, and Tumato said many people in the school community were in attendance or involved in the festival.
“This hit us right in the heart,” she said.
In addition to the 11 killed, dozens of other people were injured when an SUV was driven into a crowd at the Filipino community event. The crash happened on East 43rd Avenue and Fraser Street just after 8 p.m. PT, as the festival was coming to an end.
A 30-year-old man has been charged with eight counts of second-degree murder.
Mourners gather in song to pay tribute to Lapu-Lapu Day festival victims
