Hundreds of people came to say goodbye to the Grantsville family that was murdered in their home last week. (Family members gathered by graveside at Grantsville City Cemetery. Credit: Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
GRANTSVILLE – Hundreds of people came to say goodbye to the Grantsville family that was murdered in their home last week. Some of the terms people used to describe the Haynie family include a mama bear, a great artist, a caring friend, and a fierce ninja.
Many community members are still trying to process what happened to the Grantsville family. Brent and Nedra Eggett have known the Haynies since 2010, and they still can’t believe four of them were reportedly shot by their son and brother as they individually came home Friday afternoon.
Bren Eggett says, “I kind of feel it’s a nightmare we’re going to wake up from and none of this is going to be true.”
They say Alejandra was the kind of mother who lived for her kids.
He says, “Their mother has always been good to teach them things that they would need to know as they got older and became adults themselves,” Eggett says. Nedra added, “She was an excellent cook and a baker. She taught her kids all the trades.”
Inside, surviving brother Danny Haynie comforted the funeral attendees by talking about his faith, saying he knows he’s going to be reunited with his family, someday.
Haynie said, “A trial won’t change the good times and memories we had,” adding, “Families are eternal, and that’s what keeps us going.”
Inside the stake center, there were tables covered in family photos showing the Haynie children at every age. There were also plates of cookies on tables all over the building with a note that read, “In honor of Alejandra.” She was described as a “mama bear” more than once, and people say her children were her entire world.
Alexis, 16, was described as being an amazing artist but a better friend. One of her classmates spoke about a game Alexis invented where she would draw her friends while they were acting as animals. She says Alexis always had ideas that would keep everyone entertained.
A church leader spoke about Matthew, 14, as the kind of person who would look out for his friends. He spoke about how a group of young men were coming home from an activity and everyone had a cell phone except for one boy. Matthew spotted this, and not wanting that boy to feel left out, offered his phone to his friend and showed him how to play games on it.
Twelve-year-old Maylan was described as someone who may look like a princess in pictures, but was a “fierce ninja” on the soccer field. One man says whenever they would buy a piñata for a party, they knew to put her last in line, since she would absolutely smash it apart.
This week has been an emotionally draining one for the people of Grantsville according to Mayor Brent Marshall. On Tuesday, the city offered free grief counseling for anyone who needed it. Marshall says they saw such a huge demand, they decided to offer it again on Friday.
“We felt there might be some emotions from the funeral, today, so we wanted to make that service available,” he says.
Marshall isn’t surprised to see that many people reaching out for help. He says the family was quite well-known in a very tight-knit community.
Also, he says, “The stigma that has been attached to seeking a counselor is slowly diminishing.”
People who knew the Haynies say if there’s one positive thing to come from this tragedy, it’s that the community is rallying to support people in any way they can.
One funeral attendee says, “I know that we’re all praying for them, and it’s not just the people in Grantsville. It’s everything the other schools have done with the sports teams, and everything. It’s been awesome.”
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