Local News

Williams family shares faith, grief

Raymond Williams, 64, was depicted by his daughter, Melanie Kollar of Chambersburg, as "just a fun guy."

The 64-year-old Williams, who lived most of his life in the borough of Northern Cambria, was in the insurance business.

He also loved technology, coffee, rebuilding cars and was among the first of his generation to have a computer.

He was extremely close to his two children, three grandchildren and his wife, Christina, who worked with him in the insurance business.

The couple had been married since 1965, Kollar said.

When her father died during the April 6, 2009, shooting spree by Nicholas Adam Horner, Kollar said, "It completely changed our world."

As the sad anniversary nears, the Williams children, Melanie and Matthew, agreed to talk about their father, their family and the impact that the Horner shooting had on them and their mother.

Matt, a contractor and musician in the Pittsburgh area, described his father as a "caring guy who would do anything for anybody."

"He sure meant a lot to me," he said. "Everybody has a father. Not everybody is blessed with a dad."

Matt said he didn't inherit his dad's "mechanical gears," but he remembers his dad being patient with him as he was teaching him how to change the brakes on the family car.

He also remembers his dad and uncle rebuilding a 1956 Chevrolet.

Melanie remembers her mother calling the evening of April 6 to report that her father had died in a shooting.

She and her children and mother were all crying.

Matt, too, remembers the phone call that came to him. He was at work in Greensburg, and he knew something bad had occurred because his mother never called him at work.

"She was crying. (She said) Dad had been shot," Matt said.

There was a pause and Matt was wondering what hospital his dad was in. Then she said, "He's dead."

"I can't really describe how I felt," he said.

His sister and her family drove from Chambersburg to Altoona that night, as did Matt.

He said the next morning he was reading the paper, which contained a photograph showing Horner running from a police officer with his gun drawn.

That's the first time he knew who shot his father, but, what occurred next was what he called "a powerful experience."

He put the paper down and looked out the window of his mother's apartment and realized he was looking at the exact same scene as shown in the newspaper photograph.

When Horner was sentenced to life without parole in 2012, Christina Williams spoke to Horner as part of her victim impact statement, and told him, "You murdered my husband. You destroyed my life that day."

Both Matt and Melanie agreed that after their father's death, their mother lost her will to live.

She moved close to Melanie, and she learned to be self-sufficient and joined things like the Silver Sneakers exercise program. But when it came to her health problems, she didn't seem to want to be treated.

Christina Williams died in 2015. Melanie said her mother and father had been so close, and that with her husband gone, she was lonely.

"Life just wasn't the same. I think this is why she did go so quick," her daughter said.

Melanie explained that with a trial pending, she could not move on, and it took three years for the case to come before a jury.

The killing also had an impact on her children -- Raymond and Christina's grandchildren.

She remembered her older daughter printing out a picture of Horner that had been published and she was attempting to destroy the photo with a pencil or crayon.

"The killing affected the whole family. It's definitely been a struggle over the years," she said.

She went to work as a financial analyst and that helped, she said.

But to move on, Melanie said, "You have to accept they are gone, and you can't change that. It never gets easier, but once you accept it, you can start to function again."

"I don't think it will ever go away. You have to learn to recognize it and allow it to happen because you can't stop it," she said.

Matt pointed out there were "ups and downs" in the aftermath of the shooting.

"It's just my faith in God," he said. "Whatever happens, He has a plan that we don't understand. What each day brings, there's a higher plan."

He said on his ride to Altoona on April 6, 2009, something told him, "You've got to forgive."

He said he can't forgive the act of murder, but he is attempting to avoid a feeling of revenge, which he said is "baggage" he does not want to carry around.

As for Horner himself, Melanie said, "Honestly, I don't think of him. I think I've blocked him out. I don't have any sympathy for him. I don't have any anger anymore."

As to Horner's PTSD claim, she said, "I think he was angry that day."

Melanie said she has a hard time believing that PTSD was the cause of what happened.

There were two other Horner victims -- Scott Thomas Garlick, 19, and Michele Petty.

Garlick's family, including his parents James and Amy, declined a request (through Blair County victim-witness coordinator Sue Griep), to be interviewed for this story, as did Petty.

In memory of Garlick, a scholarship fund was established the year after his death.

Don Tantius, Garlick's soccer coach at Hollidaysburg Area High School, said the scholarship was established for a soccer player who best displays Garlick's characteristics.

"I remember Scott as a kid who would do anything for you," Tantius said.

He loved playing soccer, and even as a senior, he was willing to play on the junior varsity team. He helped out and worked with the freshmen to hone their skills.

The kids around Garlick looked up to him, and he had a wide array of friends, Tantius remembered.

Garlick had plans to go to college, and that was why he was working.

Tantius said Garlick was not scheduled to work at Subway that day but he received a call from somebody asking if he would take the shift for him. That's why he was at work when the shooter forced his way into the building.

Garlick loved music, playing the guitar and saxophone, Tantius said.

Tantius, who taught for 33 years and continues to coach soccer and track in retirement, said he still has the green wristband that was used to raise the money for the scholarship fund in memory of Garlick.