PARKLAND, Fla. – The South Florida community gathered Saturday to celebrate the lives of the victims who were lost in the Parkland school shooting nearly six years ago.
The 17 day annual celebration was created in 2019 to honor the lives of 14 students and 3 staff members lost on Feb. 14, 2018, in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas massacre.
Local 10 News spoke with Debbi Hixon, the widow of Chris Hixon, who was one of 17 people killed in the shooting. The 49-year-old military veteran was gunned down while trying to run back into the building to save the students he loved so dearly.
“We want to celebrate the lives they live, what they meant to friends and family, not the way they were stolen from us,” she said.
“The point is that if we just move on and we don’t continue to celebrate and bring up the idea that these were amazing people stolen, then it’s just complacent and we just get used to the idea that people die from gun violence,” Debbi Hixon added.
The annual event starts every year on Jan. 28 and allows families to celebrate the lives of those lost for 17 days leading up to the MSD shooting anniversary.
February 3rd is known to the Hixon family as a day dedicated to the heroic athletic director who went into harm’s way to save others.
“He lived and died taking care of kids— making them feel safe, supporting them,” said Debbi Hixon.
It’s a day to enjoy a classic snack that Chris Hixon always had available for his students.
“He always had a jar of M&Ms in his office,” Debbi Hixon said while smiling. “He’d probably complain that those (the M&M’s) are too small. ‘Those are the fun size. Why didn’t you get the big ones?’”
From outdoor activities to watching movies and enjoying a treat or two, Chris Hixon’s loved ones are keeping his memories alive while funneling pain into purpose.
“It’s a time to let yourself feel the grief, but now there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and we are making changes,” said Debbi Hixon.