CASPER, Wyo. — A vigil and several other community events have been established in honor of Lene’a Brown, a Casper teen who was the victim of homicide last week.
“I have a whole soul and whole lifetime of things to say about her at once,” her father, David Henrikson, told Oil City News on Monday.
He confirmed the information regarding the following events and support fundraisers. This information is also being shared on the Lene’a Brown public Facebook group. Henrikson has confirmed his relationship with the organizer of a GoFundMe campaign as well.
A celebration of life will be held Tuesday, May 21 from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Izzak Walton League Club House, located at 4205 Fort Caspar Road. It is open to the public. Organizers several several businesses are providing food, but more more is needed.
On Wednesday, there will be a viewing at Bustard’s Funeral Home, located at 600 CY Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m. This is also open to the public, Henrikson said.
Henrikson said Lene’a will be laid to rest in Riverton in the traditional manner of the Northern Arapahoe. This will include an all-night wake on Thursday and traditional burial on Friday. These will be private events.
On Saturday, a vigil for Lene’a will be hosted at David Street Station from 7 to 9 p.m. Candles must be battery-operated; no open flames will be allowed. Henrikson said the event has been confirmed with the venue, and Oil City News has reached out to confirm with DSS officials.
Henrikson said Lene’a’s friends are also setting up a balloon launch event. Business are also collaborating on a community raffle.
“Her smile was so immense and beautiful it would light up everyone, everywhere she went,” Henrikson said.
“She was the mother of all her friends. She was a mother to her sister. She made sure they ate, she made sure they buckled up. … She accepted everyone for who they were; she was never judgmental.”
Henrikson said Lene’a was fully in tune with her emotions and a lover of animals, especially snakes and fish. She would wince at depictions of death in movies.
He lamented that her profound empathy made her vulnerable to the darkness in the world.
“Her beauty inside and out became her curse,” Henrikson said. In her peer group, “It’s not cool to be that loving,” he said.
Henrikson said he supports the Blue Hearts Collaborative, a community group aimed at “maximizing our productive youth outreach.” The group met last Friday and will meet again June 7 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the YMCA of Natrona County, located at 1611 Casper Mountain Road.
