GREENSBORO — A video montage of precious memories that showed Athalia Crayton and her children played on a large screen Saturday during a service on the N.C. A&T campus.
Scenes that captured dancing, laughing, singing, celebrating.
The tribute video played above the open caskets of 46-year-old Athalia, 18-year-old Kasim, 16-year-old Nyla and 10-year-old Nasir.
It was a heartbreaking farewell for family who lost them Jan. 7. That's when police say Athalia's husband, 45-year-old Robert Crayton, fatally shot them in their High Point home before killing himself.
And painfully, no one knows why.
The service, which was organized by Athalia Crayton's family, included little mention of the man who took their lives. This was, family said, a day to celebrate Athalia, Kasim, Nyla and Nasir.
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Athalia's brother, Ptah Thompson, asked those in attendance inside the Alumni-Foundation Event Center for their continued prayers for the family — including his 23-year-old nephew, who escaped the home that morning with his girlfriend and asked neighbors to call 911. Thompson thanked the community for its support as the family finds a way forward after the "unimaginable" tragedy.
"Love conquers all," Thompson said during the service.
Thompson said he tried to search for the words to express how much his sister filled his life with love. The tribute video, he explained, shows others how their family genuinely enjoyed being around one another.
"This is who we are," Thompson said.
In addition to scripture readings, family and friends also shared videotaped remarks about favorite memories, such as how Athalia or "Art" poured out love to everyone she knew.
Athalia Crayton grew up in Miami and South Carolina and her family originates from Kingston, Jamaica. Special touches of Jamaica were shared during the service, including the sounds of reggae during the recessional.
Prior to living in North Carolina, Crayton also resided in South Korea and Pennsylvania. Family said she served honorably in the Second Infantry Division of the U.S. Army as a heavy equipment mechanic. She also was a business owner, certified life coach, interior designer and a student studying psychology at A&T in recent years.
A program distributed Saturday at the service featured dozens of family photos. It also included how Kasim, Nyla and Nasir will be remembered by family, friends and classmates:
At 18, Kasim was a student at Ragsdale High and the co-founder of Only Chase Money Apparel, a clothing and brand design company. "Kasim's vision was to utilize his talents as an artist and his creativity as a designer to grow his company to a multimillion dollar conglomerate." He will be remembered for "his positive spirit, brilliant mind and a style that is second to none."
Nyla, 16, was known for being caring, bubbly and confident in herself. She was "a talented artist who excelled at drawing and making crafts, especially anything creative and artistic." Also a student at Ragsdale High, she was described by those who knew her as "beautiful, loving, loyal, brilliant and a true friend."
Nasir, 10, was lovingly nicknamed "Fat Fat" or "Fats" by his family. Nasir, who attended Union Hill Elementary, was described as a great student with an energetic personality and "an overall fun person." He loved gaming, playing with his cousins and siblings and going out with his family on excursions.
A private family burial will take place at a later date.
Arrangements for Robert Crayton were not immediately known. Several friends who knew him through his career as an actor have said they were struggling to understand the “why” behind what happened.
