Clara Forman was a loving woman with a quirky sense of humour and welcoming personality, say friends and family who gathered Thursday at candlelight vigil held in her honour.

sa国际传媒淪he had a real zest for life, she loved her work at GoodLife Fitness sa国际传媒� it was important to hersa国际传媒� and she was a wonderful mother. They were both amazing parents, I know thatsa国际传媒檚 strange to say now,sa国际传媒� said Barry Forman, who was among the crowd of 100-plus people paying tribute to Clara and her two daughters, Karina and Yesenia.

Court documents indicate that Clara and the two girls, ages 7 and 8, were killed some time between Dec. 17 and Dec 19. Jacob Forman, 34, has been charged with three counts of second degree murder in the deaths of his wife and daughters.

The whole Forman family, Barry said, is sa国际传媒渞eelingsa国际传媒� from the events of the last couple weeks. It is, he said, at odds with what he saw while spending time with Clara, Jacob and the girls at their church group functions.

sa国际传媒淲e just donsa国际传媒檛 know what happened,sa国际传媒� he said, adding that even when they do learn, it wonsa国际传媒檛 change anything and the outcome is heart-breaking and impossible to process.

Many who attended the vigil on Thursday said they too were having a hard time coming to terms with the loss.

One woman said that she went to be near to people who knew and cared for Clara, in hopes that it would help her process her own grief.

Others said they went simply because the story of a woman with two young children being killed in their home struck a cord and they had to do something.

For Colleen Wood-Loewen, being present at the vigil was personal.

She lost a friend and colleague last week and said in time it will be the memory of Clara and the girls that will help her heal.

sa国际传媒淪he was a dedicated mother and loved her family above all else,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淗er daughters, who she home-schooled were everything to her.sa国际传媒�

Clarasa国际传媒檚 second love was fitness, she said, and she excelled at helping others reach their personal bests and was loving, caring, patient, kind and funny and always had a smile.

The event was was hosted by the Latino community.

The Capital News spoke with co-organizer Sharon Fisher ahead of the vigil and she said that they wanted to something because her situation hit close to home.

sa国际传媒淵ou leave everything behind when you come to Canada and to have something like that happensa国际传媒� we wanted to make sure it didnsa国际传媒檛 go by without being noticed,sa国际传媒� she said.

sa国际传媒淲e also want women who may be in abusive situations to know there is help out there.sa国际传媒�

A speaker from the Elizabeth Fry Society offered up information on staying safe, and noted that as of yet nobody knows the circumstances that led to Clara and the two childrensa国际传媒檚 death.

Jacob Forman is in police custody and will appear in court next month. His lawyer Glen Verdurmen said his client was holding up.

He also said it was too early to tell what position hesa国际传媒檇 be taking going forward or if Forman was ready to enter a plea. When Forman returns to court Jan. 18, 2018 Verdurmen said hesa国际传媒檚 unlikely to have a significantly clearer view on that.