Husband whose wife died in El Paso shooting invites public to her funeral services
A man whose wife died in the El Paso shooting is inviting the public to attend her funeral. The services for Margie Reckard, 63, will begin Friday at Perches Funeral Home in El Paso.
Antonio Basco had been married to her for 22 years, until she and 21 others were gunned down at a shopping center in El Paso on Aug. 3. Basco and Reckard never had children together, and he says he has no other family of his own. So he invited the public to be part of saying goodbye to her.
Perches Funeral Home said in a Facebook post that Basco welcomes anyone to attend his wife's services. The visitation will take place at Perches Northeast at 4946 Hondo Pass from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, with a prayer service at 7 p.m. The funeral will be at Restlawn Cemetery at 9 a.m. Saturday.
"Let's show him & his Wife some El Paso Love," the post read. If you can't attend, the funeral home's website provided information on where to send flowers or cards.
In the days after the shooting, Basco was seen crying at her makeshift memorial and holding onto a white cross with her name on it.
Local station KTSM-TV reports Reckard's family is coming from out of town. Reckard was born in Baltimore and had two sons and a daughter.
"We want to thank the people of El Paso because without them I don't know what we would have done," said Reckard's daughter-in-law, Hilda Nuzzi. "Everyone is amazing."
The Justice Department said it was officially treating the El Paso shooting as domestic terrorism. The 21-year old suspect, who is accused of killing 22 people, allegedly wrote a racist screed denouncing the increasing Hispanic population in Texas.
