LAVERKIN — Hundreds of people gathered in LaVerkin on Friday to attend the funeral services for seven family members of the Haight family who were killed in Enoch the previous week.

At the front of the chapel, the seven caskets stretched from one side of the room to the other. Each of the white or silver caskets was adorned with a large portrait photo and a floral arrangement.

An estimated crowd of more than 800 people filled the chapel and cultural hall of the LaVerkin Stake Center of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to near capacity.

Memorialized at the service were Tausha Haight, 40, her mother Gail Earl, 78, and Tausha’s five children, Macie Lynn Haight, 17, Briley Ann Haight, 12, Ammon Michael Haight, 7, Sienna Belle Haight, 7 and Gavin Drew Haight, 4.

On the afternoon of Jan. 4, police found the entire family shot to death inside the Haights’ home in Enoch. Authorities say Michael O. Haight, Tausha’s husband and the father of the five children, killed everyone else before turning the gun on himself.

The murder-suicide sent shock waves far beyond Enoch City and Iron County, making national and international headlines.

However, during Friday’s services, hardly one word was spoken about Michael Haight or of the horrific manner in which the family died. Instead, the speakers focused on faith, repentance, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All six of Tausha Haight’s siblings spoke during the 90-minute program, which also included three special musical numbers.

During Gail Earl’s eulogy, her daughter Kandace Earl Booth said that her mother always timed her baking so that her children had hot fresh bread right out of the oven as soon as they got home from school.

“This is something that she would do each and every week,” Booth said. “She was always serving others … She exemplified how to be a disciple of our Savior in her everyday life. Her greatest joy was her family.”

During the eulogy of her sister, Booth spoke of how Tausha Haight always thought of serving others around her. She quoted one of her sister’s friends as saying, “When I think of you, I think of the sparkle in every bag of confetti, the candles on every cake and the laughter in every joke.”

“That pretty much summed up Tausha,” Booth said.

Booth then talked about each of the children, starting with the oldest.

• Macie was scheduled to graduate from high school this spring, and was also on track to receive her associate’s degree from Southern Utah University at the same time. She had planned on majoring in digital marketing at SUU starting this fall. Macie was also known for teasingly tacking on the phrase “with love” whenever she delivered constructive criticism to other members of her family, Booth said, adding, “She had many friends at church and school and was a blessing to many people.”
• Briley was an avid reader who was always asking others if they’d read any good books, and was willing to share her recommendations. “She was kind and welcoming to others,” Booth said of Briley, adding that she also loved playing the piano and the cello.
• Ammon enjoyed learning how things worked. He loved trains and had just finished building a giant Lego model of the Titanic, Booth said. 
• Sienna, Ammon’s twin sister, was also an avid reader who loved school and “everything about cats,” her aunt said, adding, “Sienna’s bright blue eyes would pierce your soul whenever she looked at you. She loved to share riddles and jokes, and she had such an infectious laugh.”
• Gavin, true to his middle name of Drew, liked to draw on the walls, Booth said, adding, “He had a mischievous smile and he always gave the best hugs.”

Tausha Haight’s brothers Darren Earl, Terry Earl, Brett Earl and Justin Earl then spoke in succession, each touching on core teachings of their church.

Quoting from Matthew 22:36-29, Terry Earl noted that the second great commandment taught by Jesus is to love thy neighbor as thyself.

Helping and serving others, he added, has a powerful ripple effect, like tossing a rock in a pond.

During his talk, Brett Earl read the lyrics to the first verse of the Primary song, “Families Can Be Together Forever,” which was also the closing number sung by the congregation at the conclusion of the service:

I have a family here on Earth.
They are so good to me.
I want to share my life with them
Through all eternity.
Families can be together forever
Through Heavenly Father’s plan.
I always want to be with my own family
And the Lord has shown me how I can.

Following a rousing rendition of “O Lord, My Redeemer” by vocalist Del Beatty, Tausha Haight’s other two siblings spoke. Justin Earl talked of healing and recovering from trauma.

“Knowing the tender hearts of Tausha and her children, they too would have wanted to soothe the wounds that many people are feeling today,” he said. 

Justin Earl also noted that life’s tests, trials injustices and tragedies can be considered a “spiritual stress test,” and added that he finds comfort in the words of Jesus in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

The last sibling to speak was Stacha Earl Westbrook, who briefly addressed each of the deceased individually by name and said how much she’d miss them.

“Tausha, I would have taken more pictures and squeezed a whole lot tighter, if I had been given one more day,” she said. “We don’t get that today. But what we do get is a promise, forever, and we’ll see you again for eternity.”

Westbrook also emphasized the importance of seeking answers in the scriptures.

When we want to speak to God, we pray,” she said. “when we want him to speak to us, we read his word, the scriptures.” 

The meeting’s concluding speaker was Elder Kevin W. Pearson, an Area Authority Seventy of the church. 

Pearson spoke of Gail Earl and her legacy.

“What a remarkable woman,” he said. “I wish I had known her as you do. I’m certain that she and Tausha, and Macie, Briley, Ammon, Sienna and Gavin are pleased with the overwhelming display of love, respect and gratitude on display here this morning. What a tribute to them.”

Pearson said that it’s only natural to ask “Why?” when experiencing the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one.

“Why this beautiful family? Why these innocent children? Why them? Why now?” he said, adding, “These pressing questions can either lead us to feelings of anger, isolation, resentment and bitterness toward God and others, or they can soften our hearts and draw us closer to Him and to the Savior.”

Added Pearson: “We cannot change the course of events but we can determine how we will respond.”

Pearson encouraged those in attendance to embrace gratitude, be more faithful, and to live better lives.

“Peace I leave with you, as was spoken earlier,” he added, reiterating the quote from the book of John. “Let not your heart be troubled.”

“I bear witness that we lived before this life and we will live again,” he said. “Resurrection will come to every human being in the human family. This family will be restored.”

Following the service, pallbearers, which included family members as well as law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, brought each of the caskets outside and loaded them into the seven hearses that were waiting in the parking lot.

Brett Earl, who was flanked by his siblings, then gave a five-minute prepared statement to the news reporters gathered in front of the church. He first thanked the various law enforcement officers and other responders, city officials, neighbors and everyone who had reached out to the family and provided help and support.

“There is a story,” he said as he addressed the media. “Certainly, there’s a story of two families hurt and broken by unthinkable tragedy. The chaos within each of us wants to see a struggle and contention between rival families. With grateful hearts, we’re delighted to confirm that is not the case. But there is a story: a story of these families being able to find peace, comfort, and solace through the beauty of the knowledge of God’s plan of salvation and the atonement and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.” 

“Please, if you find yourself hurting in any way, seek help and begin your journey to healing,” he added. “Clearly, we see a great tragedy here. However, only the tender mercies of a loving Heavenly Father and God can take this tragedy that has touched us so deeply and reached deep inside each of us, and turn it into a miracle of healing, growth and progression. That is the miracle of Jesus Christ.” 

“There must be opposition in all things,” Brett Earl concluded. “We already see the great balance that has offset this tragedy and helping others heal.”

A short procession then took place, with family members following the hearses to the nearby LaVerkin City Cemetery, one block to the north of the church building.

Gail Earl was buried next to her late husband Boyd Earl, who died in January of 2020. 

Tausha Haight and her children were buried all together on the same row of graves as the Earls, just a short distance to the north.

Separate funeral services for Michael Haight, the details of which have not been made public, are scheduled for Saturday in Cedar City.

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