From tragedy to legacy: How a 19‑year‑old's love and forgiveness lives on

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Friends and family gathered Saturday to honor and remember Sha Reh, who survived the unthinkable but died in his sleep at the age of 19.

He was the lone survivor of a 2024 shooting in West Valley City that claimed the lives of his entire family ... and left him blinded.

But it was the next 13 months that would define Sha Reh's life — overcoming enormous obstacles to graduate high school and attend college — before unexpectedly passing away in his sleep last week.

A funeral service was held Saturday at a meetinghouse of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Those in attendance say Sha Reh taught them love and resilience.

"It's been deep mourning and a very sad loss this last week," said Michelle Schmidt, a family friend and mentor to Sha Reh. "There are some very broken and tender hearts, but I think everyone deep down knows that this kid took a really difficult situation and he pushed through with incredible perseverance and with faith to lead him."

The family had fled a violent situation in Myanmar, in southeast Asia, in 2014 and ended up living in Utah.

But tragedy befell them when the family — including the mother, Bu Meh, 38, a son Boe Reh, 11, and daughters Kristina Ree, 8, and Nyay Meh, 2 — was shot and killed sometime in December 2024 by their father, who also killed himself.

Sha Reh was found days later in the garage of the home by a relative, after he had been shot in the head. He underwent treatment for the traumatic brain injury and never regained sight. Loved ones say he faced that darkness with extraordinary compassion.

The young man ultimately graduated with high honors from Granger High School and attended the Utah Schools for the Deaf and Blind in Ogden before going to the University of Utah, where he intended to study law.

An online fundraiser mentioned Sha Reh's resilience, saying, "He has moved forward with incredible perseverance, determination, and faith to learn, make something of his life, and make a difference in the lives of others."

Another family friend, Bridget Harding, recounted speaking with Sha Reh after the shooting.

"His first response to us is probably one of the most loving sentences I've ever heard in my life," she said. "And he says, 'But I still love him.' And the next day, he told us together in the hospital, as we talked with him a little bit more about what had happened. He said, 'I'm going to forgive my father.'"

His forgiveness provided an example that his friends and loved ones will always remember.

"For all of the lessons that we've each learned from watching the way that he dealt with tragedy and turned it to triumph," Schmidt added.

Noting a deep spiritual foundation, Harding said Sha Reh "knows that God has been with him throughout this process, and through the atonement of Jesus Christ, he has felt that peace and hope that he knew he could see his family again.

"He was able to love and to forgive in such a tough situation," she said.

Sha Reh had always dreamed of attending college at the U. He died just six days after beginning his coursework there.

"He got to live as a University of Utah student for a whole week. And he loved every minute," said Harding. "Of all the pictures that you see in the news right now and everything, or him on the campus that week, I've never seen a bigger smile. He was so happy.

"I went and visited him on Tuesday, his second day of school, and he was just thriving. He was so happy."

His name, Schmidt said, means "a life endures" or "a light that remains."

"I know that his life will remain in each of our hearts," she said. "We're grateful for him."

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