'3 Brave Women': Memorial Held In Yountville For 'Heroines'

YOUNTVILLE, CA — The 1,200-seat Lincoln Theater at the Napa Valley Performing Arts Center was filled to capacity Monday evening to celebrate the lives of three female employees of The Pathway Home veterans' treatment and recovery center who were killed by a former client 10 days ago. Executive director Christine Loeber and staff psychologists Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba and Jennifer Gray Golick were lauded for their devoted and selfless dedication to improving the lives of the veterans in their care.

Veterans with flags stood guard outside the theater located on the campus of the Veterans Home of California. Others in the crowd wore blue T-shirts that read, "3 Brave Women."

Kellie Fuller of Napa sang the national anthem and members of the California Highway Patrol Honor Guard presented the colors as memorial proceedings began.

"They used their inner light to fight darkness," Keith Armstrong of the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Healthcare System said of Loeber, 48, Golick, 42, and Gonzales Shushereba, 32. "We may be shattered but we are not deterred by what has happened."

The women died immediately when they were shot with a rifle by Albert Wong, 36, of Sacramento. Wong then shot himself in the head with a shotgun and died.

Gonzales Shushereba's unborn child Cecilia Rose also perished from a lack of oxygenated blood after her mother's death, according to the Napa County Sheriff's Office.

Wong had been a client at The Pathway Home but reportedly was asked to leave not long before the slayings. He returned with a grudge on March 9.

Rep. Mike Thompson, the Democratic congressman who represents Napa and Yountville, said he knew Gonzales Shushereba personally as a family friend.

He will remember all three women as heroines, he said.

"They truly were heroines," said Thompson, a Vietnam War vet. "All shared a common goal: they got up every morning to improve the lives of others, improve the lives of veterans. ... We should all aspire to make sure we create fewer veterans."

Gonzales Shushereba's father Michael Gonzales said each of the women had their own attributes that made them special.

"They were doing a job that was thankless and was never going to end," Gonzales said. "Who does that? Only the best person."

Golick was remembered as "a gifted healer and a woman with a big heart," according to Armstrong.

She joined The Pathway Home in September 2017 after working in family service programs in Petaluma. She believed in working as a team and not just for oneself and was about to celebrate her 20th anniversary with her husband, Armstrong said.

Loeber, a former Boston resident and Red Sox fan, left a career in sports marketing and moved west to focus on women's health, according to Armstrong.

She brought an East Coast determination with her, he said.

"When a New Englander says, I'm gonna get it done, they get it done," Armstrong said. "She wanted to dig into the soil of human experience."

Band of the Golden West from nearby Travis Air Force Base played in tribute of the trio.

The three women's families were each presented with an American flag.

"We salute the three brave women for how they lived and how they served," said Dr. Vito Imbasciani, secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs.

Imbasciani said the violence that occurred March 9 at the Veterans Home does not represent the people who live or work there.

"This home has stood for more than 130 years," Imbasciani said. "We have always considered it a peaceful haven. [...] This has shaken everyone's sense of serenity. [...] But this violence doesn’t represent the people who live here, work here or the Yountville community."

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Zach Skiles, a Pathway Home graduate, held back tears as he took the stage to honor the three women — noting that 15 years ago Monday was when the U.S. invaded Iraq. Skiles, now a student in clinical psychology at nearby Martinez VA, said he was speaking on behalf of "hundreds of veterans who have been touched by the Pathway Home and the work that Jen, Christine and Jennifer did."

"These three women gave everything in the service of veterans," Skiles said, as many in the crowd rose to their feet, softly clapping.

Yountville Mayor John Dunbar also spoke, saying he was honored to represent members of the community at the ceremony.

"All our hearts are broken," Dunbar said. "Now it's on us to continue serving our veterans."

Dunbar said the women's families appreciated the outpouring of support and asked that the community continue to serve the veterans and the mission they gave their lives for.

ALSO SEE:

• Yountville Victims Remembered As Selfless, Dedicated
• Yountville Hostage: How To Help Victim's Family

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

Photos by Al Francis/Napasonomaphotos.com