Aids Victims Remembered Vigil Held In Browne’s Addition Park To Commemorate World Aids Day

Bea Christoph wept quietly and clutched a framed photograph of her dead son during a candlelight vigil Friday in honor of World AIDS Day.

She took comfort in the turnout of about 100 people for the Spokane vigil as she remembered her 25-year-old son, Christopher Holt, who died Sept. 19.

“It shows that other people care. There’s just not enough caring,” Christoph said.

“I don’t think there’s enough people who realize how devastating this disease is.

“It’s not prejudiced. It takes everyone,” she said.

Friday was the eighth annual World AIDS Day. The observance is intended to draw attention to the AIDS epidemic, vigil organizers said.

The lives of many of those who attended the gathering at Coeur d’Alene Park in Browne’s Addition have been touched by AIDS in some way.

For some, attending the vigil is a way to find support, said Randy Kimball, a 30-year-old man who has lived with the AIDS virus for 12 years.

“I’ve been wearing this all day,” said Kimball, opening his jacket to reveal a red AIDS awareness ribbon pinned to his shirt.

Others came to show support for friends and family members with AIDS.

“All of my close friends are here,” said Robbin Wood, 42, president of the Friends of Spokane AIDS Network.

Large red ribbons decorated the gazebo in the park. Speakers discussed the mourning and learning that comes from coping with AIDS.

“Daily, we long for the end of HIV/ AIDS,” said Joe Tomlinson Jr. of the Spokane AIDS Network.

Rebecca Brown, a Seattle author and care-giver to people with AIDS, told the group about the loss of a man she cared for as he battled the disease.

“One of the things I’ve learned from this epidemic is how much I love my friends and that I don’t want to lose them,” she said.

Mostly, the 45-minute vigil was filled with long silences.

At one point, organizers invited people to say out loud the names of loved ones they’d lost. For a few moments, then, the sound of those names filled the silence.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color photo