Obituaries

Memorial Service Planned For Homeless Men Murdered at Glendora Car Wash

Nicollette Wingert, one of the last people to see John Welch and Warren Blagrave alive, will host a memorial for the two victims.

Nicolette Wingert, 57, remembers the last time she saw John Welch and Warren Blagrave alive. She served them their last meals before their bodies were discovered early the next morning Aug. 15 at a Glendora car wash, victims of a brutal stabbing.

Wingert, who founded Nurses4Christ, said Welch and Blagrave, both 52, were regulars at her soup kitchen for the homeless at Church of the Brethren, 151 S. Glendora Ave.

She recalls catching Welch before she left for the night. “Jesus loves you,” she said to him.

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“Jesus loves you, too,” Welch answered back.

Another volunteer recalled giving Blagrave a hug that night, and before he let go, Blagrave told the volunteer, “I love you, man.”

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Wingert said she was shocked when she heard of their deaths.

“They were like family,” Wingert said. “We fed them, we saw them nearly every night. It feels like two of our family members were murdered in a horrible way.”

Wingert said Nurses4Christ and Church of the Brethren will host a memorial for Welch and Blagrave Saturday, Aug. 31 at 2 p.m. at Church of the Brethren.

Donations will be accepted at the service to raise funds for the two victims’ funeral expenses. Any extra funds will help serve the community’s homeless, said Wingert.

“They are people like you and me,” said Wingert. “They need to be honored, they need to be remembered.”

For more information on the memorial, call Nurses4Christ at  (626) 315-7392. 

 


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