Approximately 400 people filled the auditorium at the Chicago History Museum to honor the life of LGBT community activist Christina Santiago on Sept. 10.
Present were Santiago's friends, family, co-workers, fellow activists and her wife, Alisha Brennon.
"It never ceases to amaze us how much Christina was capable of giving," Aaron Stielstra, a close friend of Santiago's from New York, remembered. "For a person so small in build, she truly had one of the biggest shoulders to cry on."
Emotions were still raw nearly a month after Santiago was killed in the Indiana State Fair stage collapse Aug. 13.
Santiago was well-known in Chicago's LGBT community as the manager of programming for Howard Brown Health Center's Lesbian Community Care Project ( LCCP ) . She was also the board programming chair of Amigas Latinas.
She was buried in her home state of New York last month next to her mother. Friends and family waited to hold the Chicago memorial service until Brennon, who is still recovering from the accident, could attend.
Brennon approached the stage with help from Santiago's aunt, Lydia Matos. She recalled how nervous she was when she asked Santiago on a first date in March of 2009.
"I didn't think I had a chance with her," Brennon joked, remembering that when Santiago agreed to the date, Brennon questioned if she was serious.
On June 13, 2009, Brennon said, Santiago agreed to be her girlfriend. Two years later to the day, the couple obtained a civil union license in Illinois, just two weeks after such unions became legal in the state. One month later, on July 13, the two had their civil union.
It was exactly another month before Santiago was killed at the concert.
Brennon said she planned to live her life in pursuit of the goals she shared with Santiago.
Mona Noriega, a founder of Amigas Latinas and the current commissioner of the City of Chicago Commission on Human Relations, read a message from Mayor Emanuel to Brennon.
"I extend my deepest sympathies to all who called her their own and especially to you," the message said.
According to Kimberly Marks, a friend of the couple's, meeting Santiago changed Brennon as a person. Marks said it was the happiest she had seen Brennon.
Friends played a slideshow of Santiago and Brennon. Pictures included shots with their dogs, the two with their civil union certificate, their new rings and their travels together.
On display in front of the stage were pictures of Santiago and her Chicago Force football jersey. Santiago's family from New York came to the memorial, as did friends from her home city.
Santiago's friends remembered the 29-year-old as fiercely intelligent, unstoppable as an advocate and often hilarious as a friend.
Santiago's childhood best friend from New York, Gabrielle Rivera, recalled that Santiago befriended her "right away, even though I was the weird girl with thick glasses and one eyebrow."
Her friend Stielstra laughed about how Santiago explained that her reason for going skydiving with Brennon was "because there was a Groupon for it."
"More than one person has said to me that they knew she was special but it didn't dawn on them how special until she left us," said Alma Izquierdo, who was friends with Santiago and worked with her through Amigas Latinas. "She rekindled my faith in the goodness of humanity."
"She wore her identity with pride and made it look like fun," said Lisa Katona who worked with Santiago through LCCP.
Amigas Latinos board chair Rosa Yadira Ortiz also remembered fondly her "go-to" buddy Santiago, and said how much she misses Santiago every day.
Those who spoke of Santiago urged mourners to celebrate her short life.
"Tomorrow is promised to no one, so we must live as she lived," said Lydia Matos, Santiago's aunt.
Despite the upbeat messages, most who remembered Santiago appeared teary-eyed as they recalled a person that they said lived unencumbered by hesitation or hope.
"You did not wait for life to become what you wanted it to," said Rivera of Santiago. "You dove in heart first."
The ceremony ended with a poem, "Her Journey," read by Kim Duffey. It ended: "And think of her as living / in the hearts of those she touched / for nothing loved is ever lost / and she was loved so much."