OGDEN, Utah -- A Utah missionary killed in a bike accident while serving a mission in Taiwan was laid to rest Tuesday.
Eighteen-year-old Elder David Smith Hampton died two weeks ago when he slipped off his bicycle into oncoming traffic.
Family and friends gathered for the services in North Ogden at the Coldwater Stake Center. Orange ribbons donned trips from the building to the Hampton’s home.
“David was just a very dignified quiet soul,” said his aunt Becky Farley. “But when he walked in the room you felt there was a leader present.”
Farley misses her nephew but trusts her faith, believing Hampton is where he is needed most now.
“David ended his letters with ‘It's not about you’ and that's what this is. It's not about any of us. It's a bigger purpose. And that what I think we are all searching for. And David found that,” Farley said.
In a huge effort, his family and church members worked hard to bring Hampton back home and be laid to rest in Utah.
On Sunday, friends showed the Hampton's their support including their Stake President Paul Mackley, by arriving at their house carrying dozens of yellow balloons and singing several songs to Hampton’s parents, Cyndi and Steven.
“They converged in just a spirit of loving the Hamptons and they sang to them,” Mackley said.
Mackley said he has a special relationship with their family because he is not just their leader at church, but also their friend and dentist.
“It was just a tender moment for our whole community. The kind of things that knits our hearts together in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Hamptons’ seven children have been a privilege to watch grow up from adolescence into full-blown adults with their beautiful smiles,” he said.
The Hampton family asks for any donations to be given to a scholarship fund they have created in David's honor.
More detailed information about Elder David Smith Hampton is found below:
http://www.plumfund.com/memorial-fund/elder-david-hampton-scholarship
http://www.myers-mortuary.com/obituary/David-Smith-Hampton/North-Ogden-UT/1610950
