Fresno area funeral dates for mass shooting victims and how to help their families
The four victims of the Nov. 17 mass shooting in Fresno will be laid to rest this month with traditional Hmong funerals.
Visitors can come through daytime and night hours on the following days, unless noted otherwise. Burials will occur on the final day, with most expected at Mountain View Cemetery on Belmont Avenue in Fresno.
▪ Kou Xiong: Dec. 6, 7, 8 and 9 at Shant Bhavan Punjabi Funeral Home, 4800 E. Clayton Ave., Fowler – near Highway 99 and Clovis Avenue.
▪ Xy Lee: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 14, 8 a.m. to 12 a.m. Dec. 15, and 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Dec. 16 at the Fresno Fairgrounds’ Industrial Education Building, 1121 S. Chance Ave., Fresno.
▪ Kalaxang Thao: The funeral date and location for Thao is not being included in this story, per the family’s request for privacy. Thao’s wife and daughters moved to Banning in Southern California after he was killed.
▪ Phia Vang: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Dec. 21, through the day and night Dec. 22, and the morning of Dec. 23 at a religious facility at 1495 N. Chestnut Ave., Fresno.
“Please come and love my son,” said Vang’s father, Seng Vang, through interpreter Paula Yang, “my good son.”
How to help families of those killed
Each of the men killed was described as a major financial provider for their family.
Fresno leaders made a GoFundMe to help all the families of those killed, and there are also individual donation accounts made by victims’ family members.
Thao worked at a grocery store and was the sole provider for his pregnant wife and their two daughters, ages 2 and 5.
Two GoFundMe donation accounts were made to help. Proceeds from one account will go completely to Thao’s wife and children. The other will be used to pay for his funeral, with anything remaining going to his wife and children, family said.
Vang used the money he made delivering clinical lab results to help his father, who works at a grocery store, and his ailing mother.
There is a GoFundMe to help them.
Xiong was a chef at a sushi restaurant with a wife and young daughter.
There is a GoFundMe to help his family.
Lee used the money he made making music to support his siblings – college students who work part-time – and his parents, who didn’t have jobs during a recent interview.
His family set up a PayPal account for donations, which can also be made through family members’ Facebook pages.
The donations have meant a lot to the families.
“Your love and support will be forever remembered from my family,” wrote Xy Lee’s sister, Kaonor Lee, on her Facebook page Sunday. “May sadness never touch you and may God bless you and your families.”
What to expect at a Hmong funeral
Traditional Hmong funerals are several days. The length is because mourners believe they are helping lead the spirit of the deceased back through places that person visited throughout their life before reuniting with ancestors’ spirits in their Hmong homeland of Laos and Thailand.
Many consider this ceremony to be an important final stage of life. Hmong path guiders sing songs and play traditional instruments, such as the qeej, a bamboo pipe instrument.
Family members also pay their respects by presenting a deceased loved one with food and drinks and burning paper “heaven money” that’s believed to be useful in the afterlife.
Food is usually served to guests who attend the funeral.
The last part of the ceremony is a blessing while family members kneel in prayer.
“We welcome the American public to come and support us,” said Yang, a community activist who has been in communication with a number of victims’ family members. “We thank everyone all over the country sending prayers and support and helping us heal.”
