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OREM, Utah (AP) -- Family and friends of Lori Hacking who gathered at a memorial service in her honor Saturday remembered the joy she brought into their lives and prayed for solace.
Scott Dunaway, president of the LDS Windsor Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Orem, where the service was held, noted the outpouring of concern and affection for Lori and her family from across the state and the nation.
Many who didn't know her came to mourn with her family, he said.
"It has been interesting to me over the last week to witness how many people have adopted Lori into their lives," he said. "She has become a daughter, a sister and a granddaughter to so many people. We feel sorry as her family feels her loss. We have petitioned Heavenly Father to help find her and bring solace to her family."
Hacking, 27 has been missing since July 19. Her husband, Mark, has been charged with her murder.
About 600 people attended the service, including Lori's parents, Eraldo and Thelma Soares, and Douglas and Janet Hacking, Mark's parents.
At the stake center, some memorabilia was on display, including Hacking's wedding dress, a poster-sized photograph of the missing woman and one of the 5-gallon plastic buckets used to gather donations for the search efforts that followed the early reports of her disappearance.
Her brother, Paul Soares, recalled growing up with Lori. "We never worried about her dating the wrong kind of guy," he said during the service. "I've thought about this over the last couple of days."
Jack R. Christianson, president of the Northridge Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, called Lori "a character" who always told people how she felt. He recalled the time Lori spent in his home. "I know how difficult it's been for the families and for all of us," he said. "The reality of mortality is that difficulties and trying times come to all of us. Heartache knows no boundaries."
Mark Hacking, 28, reported his wife missing on July 19. He said she had gone jogging and never showed up for work. That night police found him naked outside a hotel and he was taken to a hospital and placed in the psychiatric ward. Police now say they doubt Lori ever went jogging.
The following Saturday, July 24, Mark's two older brothers, Scott and Lance, talked with him at the hospital. They told police he confessed he had killed his wife while she was sleeping and dumped her body in a trash bin.
For years, Mark Hacking allegedly lied to his wife, family and friends about his education and career plans. Lori discovered his deceptions even as the couple were packing up to move to North Carolina, where he had said he was going to medical school.
Hacking, who is being held on $1 million bail, has been grieving and praying, according to family members who visited him in Salt Lake County's jail Friday and Thursday. His mother, Janet Hacking, told reporters she was praying for Lori Hacking and hoped her parents and siblings could "forgive us and pray for us."
Lori Hacking's body, presumed to be in the Salt Lake County landfill, has not been found despite numerous searches. Searchers with cadaver dogs were to return to the landfill Saturday night. The next court hearing for the case is scheduled for Aug. 16.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
