'We will tell their stories': Friends, family gather to remember father, daughter killed in crash

OGDEN — A week after the deaths of Jody Thackeray and his daughter Desiree Thackeray in a crash on I-215, well over 100 friends, family and other well-wishers gathered Wednesday in Ogden, where they lived, to remember them.

"My dad and my sister were the smile everywhere you go. They would laugh with you. They would cry with you. They'd be there for you," said Rebecca Vigil Perez, daughter to Jody and sister to Desiree.

Christina Reynosa, who worked with Jody at Fresenius Medical Care in Ogden, which manufactures medical equipment and supplies, remembers how he would do a special dance whenever somebody at work celebrated a birthday. She was among the 150 or so people who gathered Wednesday evening outside his home for a vigil to memorialize the man and his daughter.

"I love that dude. He would make anyone laugh," Reynosa said. "We would love to do that (birthday) dance before we finish."

Reyna Grijalva and her sister Esmerelda Sue — friends with Desiree, who was 40 — also attended.

Desiree "was an amazing soul. She was very happy. Very kind, loving," said Grijalva. "She adopted us and we adopted her. She's our family."

Tuesday's accident occurred in the southbound lanes of I-215 near 2100 North in Salt Lake City, according to authorities. Perez said her dad, sister and two others, Joseph Vigil and Rico Montanez, were stopped in traffic on their way to a Good Charlotte concert in West Valley City when a car, apparently unaware traffic had slowed, rear-ended their vehicle, pushing it into the car in front of them.

While the two Thackerays died in the crash, Vigil, Jody's stepson, and Montanez, Desiree's boyfriend, survived.

Desiree "always made you feel like part of the circle," Vigil said. "No matter who you were, she would get to know you and love you and you would love her. ... I just can't say enough about the amazing spirit she had and how she always just believed in tomorrow."

Jody, his stepfather, treated him as his own child, Vigil said. "He was more of a father than my biological father to me, and it's tough to say, but that's the reality of it," he said.

Aside from grappling with grief, Perez said family members worry about two other loved ones Jody was supporting. He was 68 but kept working to provide for them and Perez has created a GoFundMe fundraiser* to gather funds to help them.

"The house, all the finances, bills are coming in, so we're really needing help just to make sure they're OK," she said.

Mostly, though, participants at Wednesday's vigil remembered the good times with Jody and Desiree and honored them.

"So tonight, let's make a promise to Jody and Dez. We will tell their stories. We will keep their memories alive. We will laugh at the funny things they did. We will dance when their favorite songs come on and we will love a little harder because they taught us how precious and short life truly is," said Lacey Trujillo, a friend of both.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited into the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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