Trying to heal their hurt, Christina Grimmie’s parents spoke about the pain of their daughter’s untimely death during a public memorial service held in Medford, New Jersey, on Friday, June 17.
“I don’t have too much to say,” her mother, Tina, began before breaking down in tears, according to an eyewitness. “To anybody who says that I’m strong, I want you to know that I’m the weakest person here, and I declare my dependence on Jesus Christ because I don’t have anything else. It’s just so much.”
Christina’s father, Bud, then gave Tina a huge hug before taking his turn to address the audience.
“I don’t like being in front of crowds, but this crowd has blessed me beyond words,” he said. “I want to share what I’ve shared with several people here and that’s that there’s this gigantic hole in my heart that I know is never going to go away.”
But, the Grimmie patriarch added, “God showed me that he’s way bigger than that hole.”
He continued, “The three things that keep me walking upright, otherwise I would just be a crumpled up mess in the corner, are that I know I’m going to see her again … she’s way better off now, she’s more alive now than she’s ever been, she’s not going to be hurt anymore, and thirdly, and this is where I’m wrestling, is that God’s plan is better than my plan,” he said.
The Voice contestant’s older brother Marcus also spoke to the gathered friends, fans and family with a few brief words.
“I don’t have anything to say, I don’t have words still and it’s a good and bad thing,” he said. (Marcus was on hand to tackle Christina’s killer after he fatally shot the singer during a meet-and-greet in Orlando on Friday, June 10.) “All I’m going to say is thank God for the mark that she left on this world.”
Christina was best known for placing third on the popular NBC show The Voice back in season 6, working with coach Adam Levine.
As previously reported, the Maroon 5 singer paid for Friday’s funeral services after calling Tina to make sure it would be OK.
“I found out this morning that Adam Levine personally called my mother and said he will pay for her funeral and her plane flight, and I was blown away,” Marcus wrote on his Facebook page on June 12. “Words cannot express … literally I have no words.”
