Vigil for student, father held Tuesday

More than 200 people gathered Tuesday evening at a candlelight vigil to honor the life of VCU student Angel Janel Jackson and her father Herbert Sharpe Jr..

Alicia Rasin led the vigil in front of Jackson’s home in the Sterling Forest community of Henrico County. The family’s pastor, The Rev. Adlai Allen of Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church, assisted with the ceremony.

“She was the loving kind. She loved to dance. She was so happy,” said Rasin, founder of Citizens Against Crime, who organized the vigil.

Jackson, 25, a fashion design and merchandising senior, planned to graduate in May. Adam Snyder, who attended the vigil and worked with Jackson at H & M, a clothing store in Short Pump Town Center, described Jackson as “fun-loving, focused and very goal-oriented.”

A light rain fell as the ceremony opened. Some stood under umbrellas while others stood in the rain. The vigil included prayers and songs offered by members of Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church, where Jackson and her family attended services. Sobs could be heard as the minister offered sympathies to the family and friends at the very home where Jackson and her father were slain.

“We love you Angel. We love you Junie,” gatherers said as they raised their flaming candles in the air at the conclusion of the 45-minute vigil.

“You could feel the love of God in this house,” Rasin said of the Sharpe’s family home in Henrico. “Take a moment each day and pray for this family.”

Two ribbons displaying pictures of Jackson and Sharpe hung on a young tree in the front yard. Members of Jackson’s church laid flowers by the tree, while others stopped to pray or cry at the makeshift memorial. Jackson’s grandmother, Mary Sharpe, collapsed as she passed by the tree making her way back to the house.

Memorial ceremonies for Jackson and her father will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at the Chief Cornerstone Baptist Church in Goochland. For more information about the services, call the church office at (804) 457-4559.