Bockhols remembered at memorial service
Three people touched the lives of many
March 4, 2001
About 150 neighbors and friends came to St. John's to remember Karen Bockhol, 49, her son Thomas, 23, and daughter Tracy, 26, who were veteran newspaper carriers for The Herald News. The three disappeared while delivering papers last week and their bodies were discovered Thursday inside their van after it was pulled from the bottom of the Des Plaines River. Police reported no new details in the puzzling case Saturday night.
"This has been a week of darkness," said the Rev. Ed Shea. "We all had questions, doubts and fears. The ultimate darkness we saw as they pulled the van out of the river."
The Bockhols were remembered as a caring family, who opened up their home and their hearts to everyone. Debbie Carroll, who first met the Bockhols 14 years ago, shared her memories at the memorial.
"Karen helped my daughter, Ashley, learn to walk and helped her throughout her life," Carroll said. "Karen was at the hospital before my mother when my second daughter was born. We always joked about that. They were arguing who got to hold her first."
She remembered one Christmas when money was tight at the Carroll household and her daughters wanted to buy their mother a present. They worked every weekend for four months helping the Bockhols deliver newspapers to buy their mother a present.
"It was the best present I ever got," Carroll said. "She was always there for us, through the hard times and the good."
The words to Amazing Grace lofted throughout the church at the beginning of the ceremony. Friends and family lit white candles and later held hands to pay tribute to the family who was so generous to others.
Karen and Tracy Bockhol were known as godmothers to a countless number of people. Friends reminisced that laughter and love emanated from their household. Carroll said when anyone fell on hard times, Karen Bockhol made sure they were taken care of whether it was making sure they had groceries or driving them places when they didn't have a car.
"Tracy and Thomas worked hard to help their mom," Carroll said. "They made sure every kid in that house had a Christmas."
Shea told the friends and family that despite their grief, the Bockhols are in a better place with no suffering or pain and encouraged everyone to remember the good times.
"To grieve is to create a cherishable memory," Shea said. "They are in a place with no more crying out in pain, no more darkness and no more death. All the ties of friendship and affection that we knit together during life, do not pass on with death. Those bonds will never be destroyed."
"They were always there for me and my family," Carroll said. "God has received three very special angels."