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TAMPA — When Brittney Cardillo faced tough times recently in Washington, D.C., her aunt emailed her.
God gives us trials, Debbie Rivera wrote, and they don't always make sense.
"Remember," she wrote, "everything happens for a reason."
At a two-casket funeral Mass where words such as "tragedy" and "evil" punctuated warm memories Monday, the slain woman's wisdom was salve for heavy hearts.
Rivera and her husband, Dr. Hector Rivera, were shot to death at their Avila home Jan. 9. Though deputies arrested a suspect right away, survivors still struggled for answers Monday.
The couple's son, Hector Rivera Jr., 33, sat in the front row at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, braced by his wife.
When the pews filled for the 1 p.m. service, the mourners squeezed closer. When there was no place to sit, they stood, until there was no place to stand.
About 800 packed the church.
Some felt close to the wife.
Debbie Rivera had attended Tampa Catholic, and so had Vanessa Rogers, a banker.
"This is the most horrific, saddest, unimaginable day for me, as well as for other friends, the family, and anybody touched by her life," Rogers said.
Some felt close to the husband.
Dr. Rivera practiced medicine in Town 'N Country, and so did Novelle Kirwan, a urologist. He knew Rivera for 28 years.
The grief crossed generations. Kirwan's son was friends with the Riveras' son.
Amid the well-dressed high school buddies and relatives in dark tailored suits were recognizable faces from Tampa society: baseball legend Lou Piniella, former Rays owner Vince Naimoli, beer distributor Tom Pepin, developer Dick Corbett, coin dealer Mark Yaffe.
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Those who gave eulogies spoke of Debbie as a hard-working businesswoman who adored her grandsons, threw elegant parties and "never met a charity she didn't like."
Her halo and wings surely have beads, one man quipped. Dr. Rivera, the man said, must be making house calls in heaven.
Hector was a gregarious man from Puerto Rico who would dance whenever Latino music played.
Hector always had to be different, said friend Dr. Jay Garcia. While in Switzerland, at an Italian restaurant, Hector ordered the seven-fish dinner.
It came to the table with seven whole fish — scales, eyes and all.
Laughter offered relief.
After a nearly two-hour service Monday, the crowd recessed as a pianist played On Eagles' Wings.
Outside, two hearses waited.
White for Debbie, black for Hector.
Times staff writer Amy Scherzer contributed to this report. Jessica Vander Velde can be reached at jvandervelde@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3433.
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