'It's like a bad dream that Charlie's gone, but all we can do now is carry his dream'

Marie and James Gannon in front of their Rochester home; inset Charlie Kirk (Rochester Voice photo; Kirk/Courtesy)

ROCHESTER - When the Charlie Kirk's memorial begins today around 2 p.m. at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the Gannon family of Rochester will be watching and reflecting on his legacy and the impact he has had on their entire family.
"Charlie wasn't just a speaker of truth," said Marie Gannon on Friday as she sat on the front steps of her home. "And when he died I cried like I'd lost my own brother. He was a man of God and as a Christian. he was a brother in Christ, so we did lose a brother the day he died."
Kirk was assassinated on Sept. 10 while speaking to a crowd of thousands on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
Gannon said that when they heard the news that he'd been shot she gathered the family together and they prayed for a miracle that wasn't to be.
"It's like a bad dream that Charlie's gone, but all we can do now is carry his dream on by being his voice and the voice of our Lord and Savior," she said.
"Charlie was a God-fearing man and not afraid to admit it," added husband James Gannon, who predicted that Kirk's death would only amplify his voice, not silence it.
"This is just the beginning, not the end of this," he said. "His death will only expand his voice. Bible sales are up; church attendance is up, too."
Marie Gannon said her family had watched many of Charlie Kirk's videos where he peacefully debated far-left college students, who were often openly hostile to his beliefs.
"He was a big part of our household, watching his videos knowing he and us were believing the same beliefs," she said.
Many others posted comments about Kirk's death on The Rochester Voice Facebook Page including Tammy Anderson who wrote, "He was a great inspiration for so many."
Misses Katz added simply, "We lost a great man."
And Kim Clement poignantly posted, "I have lost a member of my own family, and I never even met Charlie Kirk."
Marie Gannon, meanwhile, said she hopes to organize a local vigil for Kirk on his birthday, Oct. 14, when he would have turned 32.
She also hopes the students at Spaulding High will join the more than 60,000 other high schools and colleges applying for a chapter at Turning Point, Kirk's activist organization.
"I pray we can get a Turning Point into our high school here in Rochester and make changes and let the kids voices be heard, not just the school board and City Council," she said. "We can no longer stay silent."