Mother of woman killed in Charlottesville: 'This is just the beginning of Heather's legacy'
— -- At a memorial service today for Heather Heyer, the woman killed Saturday when a car rammed into a crowd of counterprotesters at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, Heyer's mother was met with a standing ovation as she said, "They tried to kill my child to shut her up -- well, guess what -- you just magnified her."
"Although Heather was a caring, compassionate, person, so are a lot of you. A lot of you go that extra mile," Heyer's mother, Susan Bro, said to those at the memorial service. "And I think the reason that what happened to Heather has struck a chord is because we know that what she did was achievable."
Heyer, 32, of Charlottesville, had dialogues on Facebook, her mother said, telling the mourners, "Conversations have to happen. That's the only way we're going to carry Heather's spark through.
Memorial service for Heather Heyer
A memorial service is held for Heather Heyer.
"Find what's wrong, don't ignore it, don't look the other way," Bro said. "Say to yourself, 'What can I do to make a difference?' And that's how you're going to make my child's death worthwhile.
"I'd rather have my child, but by golly, if I have to give her up, we're going to make it count," Bro said to a round of applause.
"I want this to spread, I don't want this to die," she said. "This is just the beginning of Heather's legacy."
Heyer's memorial was held this morning at Charlottesville's Paramount Theater. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., were among the over 1,000 attendees.
"You never think you're going to bury your child," Bro said at the service, adding that a public memorial is what her daughter would have wanted.
She "had to have the world involved, because that's my child," Bro said. "Always has been."
Heyer's grandfather, Elwood Shrader, said at the service, "She showed her passion at an early age."
As a child, when Heyer would return home from school, she was animated as she explained her day, Shrader recounted. She would stand at the corner of the dining room table, waving her hands, almost dancing as she went over a story, Shrader said.
Heyer wanted fairness and justice in her early years, he said, and "could call out something that didn't seem right to her." And even if she didn't agree with someone's viewpoint, she still wanted to understand it, he said.
Heyer, who worked as a paralegal, had that desire for justice throughout her life, Shrader said, adding, "how ironic that she ended up in a law office."
"She realized we all need forgiveness and we all must extend forgiveness," he said. "As we think about her today, we're very proud of her."
Shrader also expressed his appreciation for the community's support at this time.
Heyer's father, Mark Heyer, gave an emotional speech, saying, "No father should have to do this."
"She wanted equality," he said, "and in this issue of the day of her passing, she wanted to put down hate. And for my part, we just need to stop all this stuff and just forgive each other.
'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville turns violent
A look back at a white nationalist rally that turned deadly in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017.
"I came here today and I was overwhelmed," he said. "I was overwhelmed at the rainbow of colors in this room. That's how Heather was. It didn't matter who you were or where you were from. If she loved you, that was it. You were stuck. So for that, I'm truly proud of my daughter. "
The Saturday crash that killed Heather Heyer took place at a Unite the Right rally spurred by Charlottesville's plan to remove a Confederate statue from a local park. The rally was attended by neo-Nazis, skinheads and Ku Klux Klan members. They were met with hundreds of counterprotesters, which led to street brawls and violent clashes.
A driver plowed into counterprotesters, killing Heather Heyer and injuring several others. The suspected driver is in custody, facing charges including second-degree murder.
Two Virginia State troopers helping with the response to the clashes also died that day in a helicopter crash.
The Paramount said friends and family attending the service were asked to wear purple, Heather Heyer's favorite color.
Heather Heyer's cousin, Diana Ratcliff, read a letter at the service she said she wished she could have shared with her.
Emotionally, Ratcliff read, "Did I ever tell you how much I loved you? Heather, when my children ask me who I admire most I will tell them you. My baby cousin, who is larger than life and too good for this world.
"You will always be in our hearts," she added.
ABC News' Matthew Claiborne and Janet Weinstein contributed to this report.
