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Ill. pvt. killed in Hood shootings laid to rest

CHICAGO — Dozens of American flags lined the outside a Chicago funeral home where a 21-year-old soldier killed at Fort Hood was remembered Thursday as an optimistic person who loved to dance and who had dedicated her life to service.

Hundreds of mourners filled a parlor at Montclair Lucania Funeral Home to pay their respects to Pvt. Francheska Velez, who was slain in the Nov. 5 attack at the Texas military post. Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan has been charged with 13 counts of murder in the shooting spree.

Many of those at the memorial service wore T-shirts with up-close portraits of a smiling Velez, who had recently returned from deployment in Iraq because she was pregnant. Friends and family have said the 2006 Kelvyn Park High School graduate had been excited about starting a family.

“There’s a hole in our hearts. We’ve lost someone very, very special,” Gov. Pat Quinn told the crowd, speaking with a Spanish translator. “We thank Francheska for her defense of our democracy. We will never forget her sacrifice.”

Velez, whose nickname was Cheka and favorite color was yellow, lay in her Army uniform in an open casket that was draped with an American flag. Yellow flower arrangements and photo collages filled the room. The caption on one picture read, “Cheka, you will be missed.”

Military spokesman Maj. Gen. Scott West said Velez’s fellow soldiers described her as “happy, upbeat and inspiring.”

“Like her biological family, her military family shares in your sorrows,” he told the assembled mourners.

Dozens of motorcyclists — members of the Patriot Guard Riders — led the funeral procession to Mount Olive Cemetery, where Velez was buried with military honors. Mourners, many clutching yellow roses, wailed as a military musician played “Taps” on a bugle. An Army honor guard fired a 21-gun salute.

Another Illinois soldier, 22-year-old Pfc. Michael Pearson of Bolingbrook, also died in the Fort Hood attack. He was buried Saturday at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood.