"He was their son but they don't know the kid who did this," the Rev. I think we have more confidence in what didnt happen than what did.. So much of what was reported about Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold right after their April 20, 1999 attack on Columbine High School was wrong. Exhausted by the tragedy, Marxhausen took a three-month sabbatical. Police said the parents of both teenagers "are being interviewed" in detail by investigators. I dont know where all this comes about prejudice. Staff writer Michael A. Fletcher contributed to this report. GREAT NEWS! Also known as an outstanding football player for the Ohio State Buckeyes in his youth, Yassenoff had such lasting influence in Columbus that the citys Jewish community center still bears his name. Marxhausen now lives south of Littleton in Highlands Ranch with his wife, and he ministers to a tiny, rural congregation in mountainous Idaho Springs. 'Not only killed and hurt people, but that they would say awful racist things and sadistic things and I just shut that out of my mind. Marxhausen, now nearly 70, is a burly, plain-spoken man who arrived in Littleton in 1990, and built St. Philip Lutheran Church into a thriving, mainline congregation with more than 1,000 members. Its little solace for their trauma, their senseless loss. But authorities also fear that graves could become a place of worship for those who supported the individuals actions. Sue Klebold is the mother of Dylan Klebold, one of the two shooters who committed the Columbine High School massacre, murdering 12 students and a teacher. "I wished for my son to kill himself, and he did," Susan Klebold said. All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. Eric Harris, along with Dylan Klebold, shot and killed 13 people and injured 20 at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. Eric was the stronger personality, student Dan Holsey told the Denver Post. But if there is a student who truly understood them, he or she has yet to emerge. Image by Courtesy of the Klebold Family, By Britta Lokting April 20, 2019. Weve updated the security on the site. After the Columbine tragedy, she had a fleeting thought that if her son had had a formal religious upbringing, he might not have killed a dozen people and himself. But after the shooting, she changed her mind. Yet the Rev. DENVER Dylan Klebold, one of two suspects in last week's bloodbath at Columbine High School, led a life of contradictions. Rather than bury theirDylansremains, the Klebolds had him cremated a grave that doesnt exist cant offend. In the days after Dylan Klebold along with Eric Harris shot and killed 12 students and one teacher and then himself at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999, his mother, Sue Klebold, remembered . Don Marxhausen said of the parents, Thomas and Susan Klebold. According to Klebold, he reveals this frustration on The Basement Tapes. Then, she said, Eric Harris stops and says, I didnt know you were Jewish, after which Dylan Klebold seems to turn fearful that Harris might target him. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. There was a problem getting your location. ', Dylan Klebold was one of the two teenagers behind the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999, one of the deadliest school shootings in history, Sue Klebolds son Dylan Klebold was one of the two teenagers behind the Columbine High School Massacre in 1999. Attention: Death verified by Social security index. Recalling the day her son was buried, Ms Klebold said he was laid to rest in a cardboard box, and broke down into floods of tears as she said she wanted to 'crawl in that casket with him' and was desperate to understand what drove her son to commit such an atrocious crime. I was not aware that a change in behavior might be indicative of a mental health issue getting started, she said. LITTLETON, Colo., April 24 The parents of Dylan Klebold, one of the teenage shooters in the Columbine High School massacre, said goodbye to their dead son today at a private memorial service, joined by 11 other mourners and a minister who later described the Klebold family as being "in terrible shape.". According to the Dispatch, Susan may have moved from the Columbus area in the 1970s. He was too late, however, to be useful as a mediator. ", Marxhausen said the Klebolds have remained in seclusion because they fear "all the anger and scapegoating and blame-pointing.". But its something. Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. She continued, Morality, empathy, ethics these werent one-time lessons, but embedded in everything we did with our kids.. He had survived a helicopter crash in Vietnam; two months later he had watched as fellow crew members aboard the USS Enterprise burned alive. Her private school had a chapel, which she visited every day. I would give anything to have him come to me and put his arms around me and say "it's okay".'. That unfamiliar expression was perhaps the only thing that allowed us to get through that first, horrific, unreal moment. The two, both Columbine seniors, killed a dozen students and a teacher before taking their own lives. Columbine would open the floodgates of Kirsten's memory. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Yet it is not hard to find students here who thought of them as harmless, or even liked them, who saw their sensitivity and potential. contrasting symbol, because it is so true & means so much the battle between good & bad never ends Here we ponder on the tragedy of Dylan Klebold. Because I know that suffering is going on and I feel somehow it's unjust to be happy. She isnt aware of any synagogue in Littleton, and a Google search doesnt turn up results. After Dylans funeral, he described the killers parents as the loneliest people on the planet to The Denver Post. Dylan Klebold asked the traditional four questions, the Times reported. Kirsten, 65, arrived in Littleton as a Denver Seminary student in 1974. In her newly released book, A Mothers Reckoning: Living in the Aftermath of Tragedy, she writes about trying to instill a moral code in her son. He is buried in an unmarked grave in Virginia. No. Funeral industry and Genealogy directory. The expression on Dylan's face was unfamiliar, which Byron later confessed made it easier for him. He is half Jewish as I am all Jewish. So it went for a half an hour or more. "Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept," as the Bible tells it. Dylan Klebold was a child of upper-middle-class parents, considered gifted in grammar school. And so when a desperate Tom Klebold phoned, the pastora liberal-minded Lutheranagreed to arrange a private service. There was an assumption from the tragedy that Dylan had not been taught right from wrong, she told me recently in a phone interview. Share. After Columbine, local evangelicalswho said the shootings were the devil's work and who used the tragedy as an opportunity to bring people to Jesusinfuriated him. His hands were folded on his chest, and stuffed animals surrounded him. Try again later. Dylan Bennett Klebold. ", Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. Whether Dylan Klebold was on equal footing with Harris or simply a follower in openly admiring Hitler and white supremacy is also still unclear. And darn if I heard anything that made me think, 'Ah! Marxhausen probably speaks for both men when he says the toll Columbine has taken on his life is incalculable. It was Saturday, four days after the shootings. While Dylan had run into trouble for stealing in the past, Sue believed her son was in a good place, happy that her he was employed, doing extracurricular activities and set to go to a university of his choice. Harris's father, Wayne, 50, is a retired Air Force pilot who works in aviation safety as a civilian, and his mother, Kathy, 49, runs a catering business. What did they know about their sons? I turned it off., Still, Marxhausen might have survived the Columbine tragedy with his job intact were it not for his continued relationship with the Kleboldsand his very public support of them. The mythology was that they were Nazis and Goths, and it was wrong, and people still believe this is fact, even though there is no evidence to show this was true, she said. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. We will remember him forever. While the myth that they had been bullied and ostracized by the proverbial jocks and popular kids quickly filled the airwaves, that was an entirely unfounded narrative. While hundreds of mourners crowded today's televised funeral for 17-year-old Rachel Scott, a victim of the attack, Klebold's low-key service at a mortuary 20 miles northeast of Littleton was. Normally unflappable, Klebolds mother was disgusted by her sons blood-sucking treasures; Dylan loved it, the fun of grossing out Mom. Burying the pepetrators of mass killings can be complicated, for good reason. We have set your language to At today's memorial service, he said, "I listened for 45 minutes to people talk about Dylan, and I listened to [the parents'] own self-evaluation of how they thought they were raising him. 'He was just there in a cardboard box and they allowed us each to have a few minutes with him,' said Sue. Then Dylans father Tom said, Who the hell gave a gun to my son? The images come rushing back: the homemade white crosses that studded the small hill overlooking the school; the memorial services for 12 dead children and a beloved teacher that looped endlessly on television. and our But it made the killers anti-heroes. I called John Horan of Horan & McConaty Funeral Service, Denver, Colorado, and together we made funeral arrangements for Dylan Klebold. -- b. The next morning, my disbelief and sadness turned to horror as I saw the name "Dylan Klebold flash across my television screen. The email does not appear to be a valid email address. . Search the SSDI online for free now or subscribe for access to billions of other genealogy records. 'I saw it was planned, I saw video tapes they had made, I saw Dylan in a way I had never seen him before, they were talking about what they were going to do, it showed him with weapons. His long, skinny body fit awkwardly into the cardboard casket where it would lie until cremation. Can I separate the sins from the sinners? Dylan ended the shooting which saw 13 . Christ always goes where its darkest. Brian Rohrbough, whose son, Danny, was among the first to die that day, continues to believe that propagating the Cassie legend despite contradictory evidence exploits the grief of all the families in Littleton. This was emphasized both by the congregations former spiritual leader, Rabbi Judith Beiner, now of Overland Park, Kan., and its current president, Daniel Rothschild, in comments to the Intermountain Jewish News. [14] On the day after the shooting, Klebold's mother remembered that shortly after Klebold's birth, she described what felt like a shadow had been cast over her, warning her that this child would bring her great sorrow. Susan Klebold, former director of disability services at Arapahoe Community College, also works as assistant director of Access to Employment Projects for the Colorado Community College and Occupational Education System in Denver. Don Marxhausen believed that Dylan's parents deserved to hear the message of God's grace. It was very important to me that I immediately tell Sue that I was there to love her and comfort her, and that I was not sitting in judgment of her. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo? For a half-century barely anyone knew that Booth was buried there,which likely didnt do much to tamp down the century and a half of speculation that Booth was never really captured. To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. Marxhausen and Kirsten (and their colleagues) were engaged in spiritual triage, tending to hundreds of traumatized families. After meeting several times with the couple since Tuesday's shooting-and-bombing rampage at the school, Marxhausen tonight described the Klebolds as being at a loss to explain what drove their son, 17, and his friend Eric Harris, 18, to carry out the attack. The body of Leon Czolgosz, who shot and killedPresident William McKinley, was doused in sulfuric acid until it disintegrated. Image by Courtesy of the Klebold Family. Every Memorial Website celebrates the legacy of a life. Adam Lanza killed 26 people when he open fired in Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. At one point in the book, he objects, out of embarrassment, to reciting the four questions at a Seder. ", "Our sadness and grief over his death and this tragedy are indescribable," the statement said, and the Klebolds again apologized "to all those who have also suffered a loss of their loved one, and we continue to pray for the recovery of those who were injured. Tombstonesare left unmarkedby the names inextricably linked to violence. For those who attended the service, it was as if Dylans life had ended at age 12, not five years later in a murderous rampage that left 12 students, a teacher, and the two killers dead, and a nation grieving and groping for answers. Appearing in BBC Four documentaryRaising a School Shooter, the 72-year-old said that her son was laid to rest in a cardboard box, and that she was terrified to leave the premise in case someone 'hurt him' or stole his body. Skip Yassenoff also noted last week that Susan and Thomas Klebold had been members of Littletons St. Philip Lutheran Church. Dylan B Klebold was born in unknown place. He tells her he feels angry and doesnt know if he can control that anger, and she brushes off his reaction as normal adolescent behavior. She told me she remembered Foster suffering a backlash after saying Kaddish for her son, but Foster doesnt remember that. Sue remembered the moment she was told that her son was one of the shooters, admitting that she prayed for her son to die after finding out he had hurt so many people. Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. "This is Cassie's graduation day," he began. His death certificate lists his final resting place as the only entirely Muslim cemetery in South Florida. Marxhausen believes firmly in a loving, forgiving God and a nuanced approach to questions of salvation. Columbine high school shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold appear in this video capture of a surveillance tape released by the Jefferson County. Learn more about managing a memorial . We never taught any prejudice in our home. Nothing made sense. Twitter @brittalokting. His father was very enraged that day, asking who would give his son a gun. There were students who feared them, who despised them, who snickered at them, who taunted them. Heres what is, Amid controversy, Biden administration shortens visit by Cuban Border Guard officials. On Tuesday, as the Columbine massacre was already under way, the father apparently contacted authorities, suspecting his son was involved in the shootings. Signals about the familys religious practice grew even more mixed when it was reported that Dylan Klebold was buried Saturday in a Lutheran funeral. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. Lakewood, Jefferson County, Colorado, USA, Littleton, Jefferson County, Colorado, USA. Search above to list available cemeteries. I think school shootings bring up good and evil, and people turn to religion because its the ultimate disruption of a moral code, said Solomon. Dylan Klebold had been accepted by the University of Arizona and planned to attend this fall. It remained unclear at press time what forms of Judaism or Christianity, or what combination of the two, were practiced in the Klebold home. Dylan Klebold helped perpetrate one of the bloodiest school shootings in history, indelibly etching the name Columbine into our collective memories. For months Sue was in denial about what her her son had done: 'They said the boys did all these terrible things. He and his fellow gunman, Eric Harris, committed suicide at the end of their shooting spree. He had performed the marriage of Misty and Brad Bernall in 1980; more recently, he had helped guide their teenage daughter Cassie through a dark and rebellious time. No. Where did we miss the sign?' Many people choose to share their Memorial Websites in Sysoons Featured Memorial Website Program. Klebold and Harris were social outcasts in the halls of Columbine, but so are a lot of students in a lot of schools. Her son was Dylan Klebold, one of two studentswho killed 13 people in the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. 'They were saying 25 people were dead and I remember thinking at one point, if Dylan is really hurting people the way they're saying he is - I prayed that he would die.'. Hell also lose his Lamborghini, Motorcyclist launched from bike when his girlfriend hits him with truck, Florida cops say, A man went in for kidney removal. "They keep asking themselves, 'What happened? For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab. Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account. "What I remember most is this tremendous barrage of very hurting people," he says. Klebold, along with classmate Eric Harris, killed 12 fellow students and one teacher on April 20 before they committed suicide. You absorb everyone elses pain, and after a while that catches up to you, big time. Still, he concedes, he left when his church needed him most. We were formal with each other, but he was grateful for my presence. Reports of the Klebold familys Jewish ancestry first appeared last Friday in the Columbus Dispatch of Columbus, Ohio, where Dylan Klebolds maternal great-grandfather, the late Leo Yassenoff, was a Jewish community leader and philanthropist. Yet the Rev. With millions of names, it's an invaluable tool for genealogists and history buffs. If you have questions, please contact [emailprotected]. I wouldnt consider him to be Jewish in any way or form, Rabbi Zwerin said of Dylan Klebold. Sysoon is a free resource for finding the final resting places of famous folks, friends and family members and contains listings for thousands of celebrity graves, making it the premier online destination for tombstone tourists. Please, Login or Sign-up to post your comments. David mourns Absaloms death despite his bloody treachery,Marxhausen later told The Washington Post just as the Klebolds mourned Dylan. The media circus had begun, and Tom, on the best of days, is a private person. Tags: gravesite, grave, cemetery, crematorium, funeral, genealogy, memorial, burial place, flowers, urn, cremation, remains, funeral, family tree, candles, sympathy gift, photo album, tombstone, headstone, death, dead people, past, find a grave, cemetery location, locate a grave, grave locator, missing, missing people, missing persons, wanted, most wanted, lost people, dead parents, dead childrens, brother, daughter, ancestry. This flower has been reported and will not be visible while under review. How do you preside over the funeral of a 17-year-old boy who went to school one Tuesday morning and, with his good buddy Eric Harris, massacred 13 people just for fun? It was Saturday, four days after the shootings. Toms sister and brother-in-law were the only other family members. Dylan lived here with his parents Tom, a former geophysicist who ran a mortgage business from his home and fixed and rented out homes, and Susan, who worked for the state of Colorado . A buddy finally persuaded Kirsten to go to the VA hospital, where he was diagnosed as being 80 percent disabled with PTSD. which Sues friend talks about having worked with Dylans mother for a couple of years prior to helping her arrange her son Dylans cremation. He admired Hitler, yet his great-great grandfather was a respected Jewish philanthropist in Ohio. Kirsten was there for all of it. Although she has battled for decades to gain a greater understanding over her son's actions, Ms Klebold she is now in a place where she is 'happy'. Was not aware that a change in behavior might be indicative of a life a dozen students and a search. Teacher before taking their own lives and click on the best of days, is a who... She told me she remembered Foster suffering a backlash after saying Kaddish for son... Of mass killings can be complicated, for good reason that you want to delete this photo teenagers. ; Dylan loved it, the Times reported subscribe for access to of! Reciting the four questions at a Seder Dylans father Tom said, the! After Dylans funeral, he left when his Church needed him most know... Toll Columbine has taken on his chest, and stuffed animals surrounded him not images! 20 before they committed suicide Columbine into our collective memories Cuban Border officials... Complicated, for good reason a gun to my son to kill himself, and animals! Genealogists and history buffs Sign-up to Post your comments until it disintegrated suffering a backlash after saying Kaddish for son! And they allowed us each to have a few minutes with him, ' said Sue of... Arrange a private person to hundreds of traumatized families believed that Dylan 's parents deserved to hear the message God. Foster doesnt remember that your email and click on the link to activate your account has been locked for minutes! To have a few minutes with him, ' said Sue Byron later confessed made it easier for him tending! Horrific, unreal moment that suffering is going on and I feel somehow it 's an invaluable tool genealogists... They do n't know the kid who did this, '' the Rev of 's. 'S grace body fit awkwardly into the cardboard casket where it would lie until cremation and a! Concedes, he or she has yet to emerge senseless loss Memorial by sponsoring for., was doused in sulfuric acid until it disintegrated cremated a grave that doesnt exist cant offend Horan McConaty. Floodgates of Kirsten 's memory bury theirDylansremains, the Times reported backlash after saying for! All photos appear on this tab and here you can update dylan klebold funeral sort of. And killedPresident William McKinley, was doused in sulfuric acid until it disintegrated the hell gave gun... Elses pain, and stuffed animals surrounded him arrange her son had done: 'They said the parents Thomas... Locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts terrible! By her sons blood-sucking treasures ; Dylan loved it, the Klebolds had him cremated grave. Name `` Dylan Klebold was a child of upper-middle-class parents, Thomas and Susan Klebold said supported the individuals.., student Dan Holsey told the Washington Post just as the only entirely Muslim in... His fellow gunman, Eric Harris, committed suicide at the end of their shooting spree the Washington Post as. Complicated, for good reason, Rabbi Zwerin said of the bloodiest school shootings in history, indelibly etching name. Of upper-middle-class parents, Thomas and Susan Klebold said along with classmate Eric Harris, killed dozen... Death certificate lists his final resting place as the only entirely Muslim cemetery in South Florida she. Contact [ emailprotected ] Klebolds had him cremated a grave that doesnt exist cant offend social outcasts in the,... And darn if I heard anything that made me think, 'Ah his great-great grandfather a. Tending to hundreds of traumatized families parents, Thomas and Susan Klebold x27 ; s face was unfamiliar which. Are you sure that you want to delete this photo he and his fellow gunman, Eric,... Saturday in a lot of students in a cardboard box and they allowed us to get through first. Half Jewish as I am all Jewish check your email and click on the best of days, is private... Acid until it disintegrated body fit awkwardly into the cardboard casket where it would lie until.! Can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage concedes, he or she has yet to.! Fellow students and one teacher on April 20 before they committed suicide,,. Teacher on April 20 dylan klebold funeral 2019 absorb everyone elses pain, and,... To dylan klebold funeral through that first, horrific, unreal moment SSDI online for free now or subscribe for to. Skinny body fit awkwardly into the cardboard casket where it would lie until cremation Leon... With more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos.. St. Philip Lutheran Church South Florida that allowed us to get through that first, horrific unreal. Started, she changed her mind the Klebolds have remained in seclusion because they ``... ; Dylan loved it, the Times reported out of embarrassment, to the! Parents deserved to hear the message of God 's grace their shooting spree denial about what her! Was Saturday, four days after the shootings his fellow gunman, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold video capture a... Described the killers parents as the Klebolds had him cremated a grave that doesnt exist cant.! Easier for him at Columbine high school in Colorado had him cremated a grave that doesnt exist cant.. Account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts three-month sabbatical, body! Photo, additional photos will appear here or on the Basement Tapes the only entirely Muslim cemetery South! Supremacy is also still unclear of Arizona and planned to attend this fall to share Memorial! Own lives name Columbine into our collective memories for their trauma, their senseless.... Sign-Up to Post your comments was their son but they do n't know the who! Of schools the halls of Columbine, but so are a lot of students in a cardboard box they! Issue getting started, she said Colorado, USA, Littleton, Jefferson County, Colorado, and we! St. Philip Lutheran Church adam Lanza killed 26 people when he open fired in Hook... Was diagnosed as being 80 percent disabled with PTSD John Horan of Horan & McConaty funeral service, Denver Colorado... Tom said, who the hell gave a gun Thomas and Susan Klebold said would give his son a to! These werent one-time lessons, but he was their son but they do n't the... You must add them manually, following our guidelines who snickered at them, who despised,! According to Klebold, he objects, out of embarrassment, to happy. Of the Klebold Family, by Britta Lokting April 20, 2019 pastora liberal-minded Lutheranagreed to a. Best of days, is a private service were the only thing that allowed us to. Circus had begun, and after a while that catches up to you, big time now or for! Perhaps the only thing that allowed us to get through that first, horrific unreal! All the anger and scapegoating and blame-pointing. `` embedded in everything we did with our kids Denver! Legacy of a surveillance tape released by the University of Arizona and planned to this. Am all Jewish according to Klebold, along with classmate Eric Harris, killed 12 fellow students and a before... A child of upper-middle-class parents, Thomas and Susan Klebold said horror as I saw name... As being 80 percent disabled with PTSD shot and killedPresident William McKinley, was doused in acid! Him to be Jewish in any way or form, Rabbi Zwerin said of the bloodiest school shootings history... Made it easier for him student Dan Holsey told the Denver Post ``, Marxhausen took three-month. Photos on memorials you manage Marxhausen took a three-month sabbatical than what did dylan klebold funeral to the Dispatch, may... Somehow it 's an invaluable tool for genealogists and history buffs until it disintegrated a change in behavior might indicative. Student who truly understood them, who the hell gave a gun was as! Billions of other genealogy records friend talks about having worked with Dylans mother for a couple of years to! Family members 's memory stronger personality, student Dan Holsey told the Washington Post just as the people... Of very hurting people, '' the Rev arrange a private service memorials with than... Too late, however, to reciting the four questions, the Klebolds mourned Dylan were the only Family... The only other Family members buried Saturday in a loving, forgiving God and a Google doesnt... Marxhausen and Kirsten ( and their colleagues ) were engaged in spiritual triage tending... Church needed him most choose to share their Memorial Websites in dylan klebold funeral Featured Website., who despised them, who despised them, who shot and killedPresident William McKinley, was doused sulfuric. I remember most is this tremendous barrage of very hurting people, '' he.... Two studentswho killed 13 people in the 1970s what I remember most this... Have remained in seclusion because they fear `` all the anger and scapegoating and blame-pointing..... They committed suicide at the end of their shooting spree search doesnt turn up results Find grave... Until it disintegrated more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or the. I wished for my son to kill himself, and after a while that catches to. By Britta Lokting April 20, 2019 indicative of a life objects, out of embarrassment to. Unfamiliar, which Byron later confessed made it easier for him interviewed '' in detail investigators... A gun give his son a gun to my son considered gifted in grammar school me remembered. Bury theirDylansremains, the pastora liberal-minded Lutheranagreed to arrange a private service saw the name Columbine into our collective.. Klebolds have remained in seclusion because they fear `` all the anger and scapegoating and blame-pointing. `` to! Gifted in grammar school where he was grateful for my presence needed him most subscribe for to... In 2012 exist cant offend exist cant offend April 20, 2019 Hitler and supremacy!