No sadder news emerged in the aftermath of the Townville school shooting last month than the death of 6-year-old Jacob Hall. But though his family and friends lost the South Carolina first-grader much sooner than they should have, they didn't lose his spirit—which is why a variety of superheroes flooded Oakdale Baptist Church Tuesday to mourn Jacob and celebrate his life, CNN reports. The Tuesday visitation was the prelude to Jacob's Wednesday funeral, where his mother, Renae Hall, said she wanted everyone to pay tribute to her son in the way he would've wanted it. "I don't want suits and ties and all that," she told reporters Saturday, per Fox Carolina. "There will be a lot of children there and I don't want it to be scary for them." The AP notes Jacob was dressed as Batman in his tiny blue casket during Wednesday's service.
The superhero theme was also dominant at Tuesday's visitation, which CNN notes more resembled a child's birthday party than a memorial service: There were balloons, flowers filled with stuffed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and family members in their own superhero attire greeting visitors in front of Jacob's coffin, which the AP notes was adorned with Ninja Turtle stickers. One man even drove his Batmobile from West Virginia to pay his respects at the funeral. "Jacob Lee Hall, Townville's very own superhero, was … given to us as a gift, and through those six years up until the very last moment of his life with us, God was and still is today accomplishing his purpose with Jacob," said the reverend who spoke to the gathered well-wishers Wednesday. (More Jacob Hall stories.)
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