GREENFIELD — As the sun drew low in the sky over Greenfield Saturday evening, the flames of dozens of white candles flickered across the Town Common in memory of the four victims of a fatal house fire Sept. 25.
Longtime state police radio technician Brian Tower, 48, his wife, Florenda (Houle) Tower, 49, her son, Raymond Wood, 28, and his son, William Paul Clark, 5, all died in a fire at 140 Meridian St. three weeks ago. More than 20 of the victims’ friends and family members gathered for a candlelight vigil to remember them.
“I want people to see what a light they were,” said Lindsay Hamel, a longtime friend of Wood’s and organizer of the Saturday vigil. “I want this to be a time of healing.”
Hamel, William’s mother Jamie Clark and a number of other family friends spoke about their memories of the victims, and wrote their condolences to the Wood and Tower families on posterboards.
“Ray was such a happy-go-lucky, kind guy,” Carissa Lee, a friend of Wood’s, said. “It was just made so much more traumatic by having William involved. He was so young and had his whole life ahead of him.”
Lee helped to organize the vigil after she heard about the idea from Hamel.
“I thought it was a great idea,” she said. “It was such a tragedy for the whole family to go like that … They deserve (a vigil).”
Hamel and Jamie Clark talked about the impact Wood and his son had on the people they met.
“He left a mark on me,” Hamel said of Wood. “He taught me to be a better person.”
“(William) really touched the hearts of everyone,” Jamie Clark said of her son.
Clark added that Wood was one of the best friends she could have asked for.
“(William) was a character,” said Diane Wentworth, who attended the vigil with Karen Poirier, Erin Langevin and Erin’s daughter Emily.
As friends of the family, Wentworth, Poirier and Langevin turned out in support, and wore handcrafted pins with photos of William.
Hamel called for those present to remember the victims for their joy and laughter, and read letters from family members who weren’t able to attend. A moment of silence was also held in their honor.
In the face of hardship, Lee said, she hopes people can learn from the unexpected tragedy.
“I know everything happens for a reason,” she said. She hopes the tragedy will teach people “to love often and forgive often.”