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Hundreds Gather To Remember Tyler Doohan

cnn.com/13wham.com

Hundreds of people backed a church in Fairport Wednesday   for the funeral of Tyler Doohan, and two of his relatives, who all died as the result of a fire in Penfield last week.

Tyler, who was eight years old, was sleeping in a mobile home when it caught fire, and was killed when he tried to help his disabled grandfather get out. The funeral for his grandfather, 54 year old Stephen  Smith  and another relative, 63 year old Lewis Beach were also held at St. John of Rochester Church.

In her eulogy, Tyler's mom, Crystal Vrooman, tearfully remembered some of the good times she had with her boy.

"Now you're safe and happy and a beautiful angel, we will see you again someday and we will all be together and happy again; we all have so many awesome memories together that make us laugh. "

Also speaking at the service, Tyler’s fourth grade teacher, Denise Alfieri, who says Tyler just started her class last September, but quickly became a big part of their classroom. She says drawing was one of Tyler’s passions, and she says he also loved to tell stories about his family.

Alfieri says it’s not easy being without him. “'There is emptiness, and a void, that now fills Room 240, we've created memory books and we've made bracelets with his initials on them, just to help us heal"

A basketball team from Wisconsin were also among the mourners attending the funeral service .

Randy Gorbman is WXXI's director of news and public affairs. Randy manages the day-to-day operations of WXXI News on radio, television, and online.