‘She taught us to live fully’: Remembering Harper Moyski
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Walking sticks aren’t just for the old. They are for the adventurous.
In one of the photos provided by Harper Moyski’s family, Harper is seen looking across a valley at a craggy mountain inside what appears to be Zion National Park in Utah.
In her right hand is a walking stick. Her stance is confident as she uses the stick to poke into an uneven, stone path high above the valley floor.
Harper was one of two children who were shot and killed at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis last month. The funeral for the other victim — Fletcher Merkel, 8 — was held a week ago.
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It was Harper’s goal to see all 63 National Parks in the United States before graduating from college. She was “wide-eyed, curious, and always up for the next trail,” noted her parents, Jackie Flavin and Mike Moyski, and a younger sister, Quinn Moyski, in a published obituary.
Weather didn’t seem to deter Harper and her family from getting outside. Another photo shows Harper in a pink stocking cap. Behind her is a snow- and icicle-clad ridge. Other photos are also in natural settings, including one where she’s lifted her arms joyfully above her head and is reaching for the clouds, a purple backpack strapped around a red Wisconsin Badgers hoodie.
She appears to be no more than 3- or 4-years-old in the photo.
Her family said Harper already had career aspirations of becoming a veterinarian. She “had the heart and smarts to do it,” they wrote. “Snakes, frogs, and bugs never scared her.”
At a memorial service on Sunday, heart-shaped pins and baked goods were passed out to guests, blue and green ribbons were tied around beams and chalk art covered the sidewalk.
Father Tom Hurley of Old St. Patrick’s Church in Chicago led the service. He emphasized peace, non-violence and justice. He described Harper as someone who was “always all in,” in whatever she did.
“Are we all in to change our world?” he asked. “Are we all in so that we never, ever, ever have to come here again? We shouldn’t. Because we shouldn’t be here. I challenge us, are we all in.”
Rabbi Jason Rodich, a friend of the family, read a poem. He stressed the overwhelming emotions the Annunciation community and beyond is feeling.
“I know, I know, we’ve been here before. Sandy Hook, Parkland and Columbine. Each and every time we march and we scream thinking this time we’ll beat it, it can’t be the same. But the babies, they keep dying. Each, precious one,” he said.
Harper’s parents — Jackie Flavin and Mike Moyski — eulogized Harper, sharing three lessons they learned from her. Be your own kind of light. Let your light be big. Light grows when we share it.
They described Harper as unapologetically herself.
“She had her own point of view, her own sense of style, her own sense of being,” Flavin said. “She packed so much joy and imagination into her short 10 years, and thank God. Thank God she made it all count. She taught us to live fully, and feel everything deeply.”
Flavin shared a memory of Harper on her first day of pre-school that spoke to the humor and confidence she had.
“Her teacher asked her what her name was and without looking up from her coloring, she said, ‘Badass.’ And then the teacher kinda blinked and said, excuse me, what’s your name? ‘Badass.’”
Harper also had a flawless skincare routine. Flavin said Harper often gave her family tips on how to look their best and even wrote step-by-step instructions for her sister, Quinn, so she knew how to apply her skincare everyday.
“She genuinely wanted all the people that she loved to feel good and look good too. And she would tell you if you didn’t look good, that was Harper. Confident, kind and completely her own kind of light. She really taught us to show up exactly as you are,” Flavin said.
The parents also thanked the community for the outpouring of support and love they have felt over the last few weeks.
“There’s so much love and support reaching our path that we haven’t felt lost. Shattered and heartbroken, but not lost,” Flavin said.
Flavin said like the love she has received from others after the death of Harper, the love of her daughter isn’t something that will ever fade. It is something she will always carry.
“That kind of love doesn’t disappear or die, it becomes a force capable of carrying us, changing us and maybe even changing some laws too,” she said.
The service ended with a performance of “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood. There was a moment of silence for Harper, leading to a final blessing and celebration including food trucks and dancing in her honor.
