OGDEN, Utah — Vanessa Barnes is feeling the weight of the loss of her sister, Erika Carr.
“She was everything to me,” she said. “She was the person who I could run to and was always there for me through everything.”
Thursday night, community members held a candlelight vigil at Liberty Park in Ogden, in memory of Carr, 30, who fought cancer and Cushing Syndrome long and hard for years.
“We do have our nieces and nephews that are really in a hard time right now,” said Gina Barnes. “We just, you know, trying to grieve together and just kind of really show people who Erika was. She was a great person, really kindhearted soul.”
Before Erika passed away, the single mother created a GoFundMe to raise $5,000 for her funeral and to leave some money for her young kids. In the end, she ended up raising almost $1.3 million.
“You see every day, you know, GoFundMe, and it's like, this was something special,” said Gina Barnes. “Like, everybody knew Erika, the community. It's just amazing. IIt was just like, wow, we just only wanted what we wanted, and we've got more than that.”
All of the extra money will go into a trust fund for the children to ensure they will live well as they grow up, said Gina Barnes.
“She wanted us to be happy. Do not be sad, and that's exactly what we're trying to do.”
