Kathy Jo Brown, left, says her husband Shawn, upper right, 'ran the race victoriously all the way to God's arms'    ALSO: U.S. shooting tragedies spark cycle of spin Recent shootings renew gun control debate 'The guy pointed a gun at me' - transcript of a 911 call from Wedgwood Baptist Church Neighbors considered shootings suspect odd, not dangerous MESSAGE BOARDS: Church Shootings GALLERY Shooting Fatalities RELATED AUDIO Listen to witnesses describe the shooting at the Wedgwood Baptist Church. AIFF (384 K/ 30 sec. audio) AIFF (224 K/ 18 sec. audio) AIFF (320 K/ 25 sec. audio) AIFF (544 K/ 45 sec. audio) VIDEO CNN's Ed Garsten interviews friends of the church shooting victims Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K CNN's Bill Hemmer reports from seminary of church shooting victims Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

September 18, 1999
Web posted at: 3:48 p.m. EDT (1948 GMT)

In this story: Community service planned for Sunday 'No satisfactory explanation' Ashbrook discharged from Navy for pot use RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wires reports

FORT WORTH, Texas (CNN) -- Friends and family of Shawn Brown remembered a warm and funny man full of life and love Saturday as the funerals for victims of the shooting at a Fort Worth Baptist church began.

"All men die, but few really live," Brown's friend John Roland said, quoting the movie "Braveheart. "Shawn Brown really lived. He lived a life of purpose, of passion, and of meaning." ( 217 K/20 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

Brown's wife, Kathy Jo, told the gathered mourners that she "loved being Shawn Brown's wife."

"We had a marriage based on God, and we often said we felt like we were living in a dream," she said. "We were a team, and we challenged each other." ( 206 K/19 sec. AIFF or WAV sound)

"Shawn ran the race victoriously all the way to God's arms," Kathy Jo Brown said tearfully.

Brown, 23, was studying to be a youth minister at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, where Saturday's service was held.

Community service planned for Sunday

Brown's fellow seminarian Susan "Kim" Jones, 23, and seminary graduate Sydney Browning, 36, were to be memorialized later in the day at Southwestern. Services for 17-year-old Justin Ray, a high school senior, were to be held at Westcliff United Methodist Church.

Ray held a video camera, taping the performance of a Christian rock group, when Larry Gene Ashbrook, 47, burst into Wedgwood Baptist Church Wednesday and opened fire. The tape ends after Ashbrook aimed at the camera and fired.

Kristi Beckel, Joseph D. Ennis, Cassandra Griffin, all 14, were also killed in Ashbrook's hail of bullets. Seven people were injured; two of the injured remain hospitalized, listed in fair condition.

With several unspent ammunition clips still in his pockets, Ashbrook later sat in a back pew of the church and fatally shot himself in the head.

A large community memorial service is planned for Sunday at Texas Christian University's football stadium. Texas Gov. George W. Bush plans to attend.

The memorial for Shawn Brown was the first of four being held Saturday for victims of the shooting

'No satisfactory explanation'

Investigators searching for rhyme or reason to the seemingly senseless crime have found little since Wednesday. Ashbrook left no note to cast light on his motives for the shooting but friends and family described the man as a paranoid loner, investigators said.

Investigators found the inside of his nearby house in shambles. Rambling letters written over the summer to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram referred to encounters with the CIA, psychological warfare, assaults by co-workers and being drugged by police.

Ashbrook's family said there was no justification for the attack.

"We know that there can never be a satisfactory explanation for this action," said a statement issued Friday and attributed to Ashbrook's brother, Aaron Ashbrook, sister Pat Brown and sister and brother-in-law, Elizabeth and Tom Gentry. "We only know that we are heartsick along with everyone in Fort Worth and the nation."

Ashbrook discharged from Navy for pot use

Information obtained from the Pentagon indicated that Ashbrook was court-martialed and discharged from the U.S. Navy for smoking marijuana.

Ashbrook enlisted in the Navy in 1972 and served two stints, from October 1972 to February 1975 and from February 1979 to December 1983 in a variety of positions. He received five promotions before he received an "Other Than Honorable" discharge, according to biographical information released by the Pentagon.

Fort Worth police have said that Ashbrook was arrested in 1971 on a marijuana-related charge but that he served no jail time.

During his Navy stints, Ashbrook received four awards and decorations -- the National Defense Service Medal, the Naval Reserve Meritorious Service Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Sea Service Ribbon.

His last rank held was AW3 (E-4), an aviation warfare systems operator.

During his stints, Ashbrook was stationed in Dallas and Jacksonville, Florida.

Correspondents Bill Hemmer and Ed Garsten and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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