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Communities glow in pink to celebrate Speer family

Posted at 10:41 PM, Oct 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-01 00:14:50-04

In efforts to honor the Speer family, family friends and community members gathered for a ‘Pink Out on Halloween’ event in which the town glowed in pink. The movement was intended to support the friends and family who are hurting from the loss of the family of six, who was killed in a fire that destroyed their two-story home in Nehawka.

Liz Guenthner, a family friend, says they chose pink because the household consisted of mostly girls – with Elli, Addilyn, Emma and Anniston, and their parents, Mike and Michelle Speer.

“Everybody was looking for something to do and in a community like this, everybody knew them. And I think this is giving the children, that can’t even express themselves or get involved, I think this is the way to do it,” says Guenthner.

Guenthner says the community rallied to gather funds to purchase and distribute 700 pink glow sticks, bracelets and necklaces - a popular color in the girl-dominated family.

"It's been unbelievable but once again, Halloween in Murray is always unbelievable. We've been handing out glow sticks nonstop. I think kids have been kind of making this one of the pinpoint stops because they've wanted to make sure they're part of it,” adds Guenthner.

Family friends also distributed nearly 500 pink light bulbs, donated by the Omaha Fire Department, to families so others could change their porch lights to pink with the intention that as people look down the streets of Murray, the Speers’ spirits illuminate the town.

Alexander Williams knew the family personally and traveled back for the event from Denver to support the efforts.

"This is something that I thought that this might be just contained to this little town in Nebraska of 400 people and to see lights and comments from - it was a global initiative at this point, where people in the military that used to live here - you see the lights all over the country and to see so much support across the country, it’s just unbelievable,” says Williams.

Organizers say although the event was first organized to help the community mourn, they hope the Speers are proudly looking down at the illuminated pink support across the area.

"My daughter asked me a couple days ago, she said, mommy why do you think the sunset has been pink all week. She's five. And to her - that she would notice that, and she said, I think that they want us to know that they like what we're doing,” says Guenthner.