The media portrayal of Adam Razani earlier this week indicated a troubled man who used Facebook to foreshadow his death.
But inside Mission Hills Church on Saturday morning, friends and family painted a different picture.
Good-humored, caring, compassionate, loyal and loving. All those qualities came to light in anecdotes from emotional friends and family.
Earlier in the week, Razani’s set off a manhunt in Trabuco Canyon. An Orange County sheriff's deputy later discovered him with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
If Razani felt alone or troubled, it would have been hard to notice among the more than 200 people who attended his funeral in Mission Viejo.
Razani, 25, lay in a closed casket draped with an American flag that was later given to his parents at El Toro Memorial Park by a colleague in the U.S. Air Force.
Razani had recently finished a tour in Afghanistan and was readjusting to civilian life.
He was the oldest of two children, a son and a daughter, born to Mike and Manzar Razani of Aliso Viejo.
Mona Razani took the pulpit and was reduced to tears almost immediately after introducing herself: “I’m Adam’s little sister.” Her father went to her side and placed a hand on her as she composed herself and spoke from prepared notes and her heart.
“He always made people laugh; he had an internal sweet soul,” Mona said. “Adam put our needs before his own.”
She talked about her brother’s love for animals and music, and his deep devotion to friends and family. She was not alone.
“Adam was the glue to our little crew, making sure everyone stuck together and was really happy,” said Bryan Santana, who was for awhile Razani’s supervisor in the Air Force.
Espe Cantlay, who was an administrator at Aliso Niguel High, where Razani graduated in 2005, addressed his parents directly: “You raised a beautiful son, kind and compassionate, a man who served his country … and you should be so proud of the impact he had in his life.”
Before joining the Air Force, Razani graduated from Saddleback College in 2008.
Between speakers, videos of Razani playing guitar or dancing with fellow airmen were shown, along with photos of him and family.
On either side of the casket were images of Razani, and amid tall flower arrangements of white lilies and roses were his electric guitar and keyboard.
Although a number of people spoke inside the church during an open mike period, the fond recollections continued afterward.
“My fondest memory about Adam was when were walking to the movie theaters and all of a sudden he exploded in laughter and funny noises and ran away from us,” said friend Nick Harris. “We would run after him and try to catch him, but he was always too fast for us.”
The morning service and afternoon burial were difficult for Razani’s mother, who clutched the dark blue blue casket at the gravesite.
“His mother told me the other night that she loved Adam more than herself,” said Maryam Emamian, Razani’s aunt. “Having Adam in her life taught her how to love a true love.”
God Bless,
The posted video—which could not be downloaded by the public—conveyed the emotions of the event and serves as a historical record, and provides an opportunity for those who could not attend to experience a part of the graveside service; Adam had friends worldwide who could not be in attendance. Patch is the one media source that found Adam’s story important enough to cover. Patch is within its right to leave the video on the site, but has electively chosen to remove it at the request of the family—in particular Adam’s sister, Mona. It’s not Patch’s intent to add to the grief already felt by the family, but merely to document the tragedy for the many who have an interest in the Razani story or who could not be in attendance. ~ Martin Henderson
The family did not know you were filming or taking photos or they would have asked you to stop. They were actually too grief stricken to worry about this obvious invasion of their privacy! The family would like you to also remove the photos and I've been asked to please have you do so. This has been a very trying time for them and I don't see how these photos of a very personal and painful time in their life being posted on this site enhances the story in the least. Please, honor their wishes and remove the gravesite photos. It is just beyond the pale that you don't see why this is inappropriate. It is not a question of whether you have the right to do so, but if it is the RIGHT thing to do. They family is asking that you remove them immediately, not just the video but the photos.
I attended the services, as a long time friend of the family. I too do not understand what "news worthiness" it is, to share the grief and sorrow that family and friends struggle with the passing of a loved one. Please honor Mona's request and remove the service photos. Adam was a friend of many and his memories should be remembered, not photos of his funeral. We all loved Adam for his kindness towards others and maybe you could learn from him as well.
Please do the right thing, and exercise your journalistic integrity. It is YOUR decision to report the news, and taking the video down perhaps was complying with of a respectful request. There is no reason to take down the photos. The problem with today's media is that they are corporate-owned, or politician-owned. You can be different. This is news, take them down only if *you* feel they are not necessary.
This coming from a hate-mongering politician who announced that he is naming his dog Mohammed when no one asked, and shamelessly plagiarized literature from various sites claiming that not everyone has an original idea, and then refusing to acknowledge his theft. If you were any less hypocritical, Mr. Reeve, you'd only embarrass humanity.
I hope you understand that this is not news but a family tragedy. Your article is fine but the pictures you have posted are invasive and offensive to the family. Not only to them, but also the many men and women in service who have and will be affected by this death. I hope you are a decent human being and can abide by the requests of the family who are grieving the loss of their son.
Mr. Henderson, I'm sure your intentions were to highlight this young mans story. Unfortunately it ended up much like the rest of the media now. Get the photos and ask for forgiveness later. If you were attending the funeral, you should have respectfully asked the family for permission to both photograph and post pictures. It should have been up to them as to whether these images would be made public. I'm glad you ultimately honored their request. Ms/Mr Kamath: Are you serious? Would you really want this around your loved ones and your suffering.
Although Kim didn't mention this, I will: Anyone wishing to donate to the Gold Star Stars can do by following the link in her post.