NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Evelyn Dieckhaus had planned to spend Friday singing Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” in a play about jazz at her school.
Instead, mourners wearing pastel colors packed into Woodmont Christian Church to remember the 9-year-old “shining light” who was killed in a rampage Monday. Among them, country music singer Vince Gill, who sang Armstrong’s song in her honor.
“Evelyn could have been anything,” senior pastor Clay Stauffer said. “But she chose to be a beacon of light and hope, love and joy to those around her.”
Evelyn’s funeral was the first held for a victim of Monday’s massacre at The Covenant School. A photo of her on the programs, with a big smile and a bright pink headband pushing back her light blond hair, filled the room for the celebration of her life.
“She was an incredible girl,” Stauffer told mourners, who included Mayor John Cooper and Chief of Police John Drake.
Attendees, who filled the church that was less than 3 miles from the site of the attack, arrived in springtime colors as a tribute to the child’s spirit. A spectrum of pinks, blues and greens filled the venue and overflow areas. Many wiped away tears as they wept, while children held stuffed animals given out by the church in memory of Evelyn.
The shooting killed three students and three adults. In addition to Evelyn, authorities identified the victims as Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, both age 9; school head Katherine Koonce, 60; substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, 61; and school custodian Mike Hill, 61.
The horrific act of violence was committed by a former Covenant student who police officers gunned down as the suspect opened fire on arriving law enforcement, authorities said. A motive has not yet been made public.
Stauffer thanked police and first responders, saying, “All of you are amazing. Thank you for everything that you do for our city.”
The recognition was met with loud and sustained applause.
In an obituary published in the Tennessean, the…
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