Javad Marshall-Fields pursued Vivian Wolfe for four years before he finally got his girl, slipping a ring on her finger early last month.
Recent graduates of Colorado State University, the young couple were planning to spend the rest of their lives learning and growing – together.
But that new life ended too soon. On June 20, Javad and Vivian were gunned down in their car in Aurora.
On Thursday, their families mourned together in a dual funeral at Denver’s Mount Gilead Baptist Church. Their mothers sat together in the front pew.
Before them were their children’s coffins, which later were buried side by side at a Wheat Ridge cemetery.
“They were bound to find each other,” said Dr. Paul Thayer, director of CSU’s Center for Advising and Student Achievement. “Two beautiful young adults, successful students – who could wonder that they would become an item and eventually become committed to one another?”
The four-hour midday service brought together police, prosecutors, friends, family, colleagues and fellow students.
They filled the church and spilled out into the walkway. The service alternated between gospel and justice, love and loss, tears and laughter, Javad and Vivian.
There were pleas for money for a reward fund to bring in more information about the killings.
Many believe the shooting was to silence Javad before he could testify in a murder trial that was to begin this week.
Javad told police he saw Robert Keith Ray drive the getaway vehicle from a July 4, 2004, shooting at Lowry Park in Aurora that killed his friend Gregory Vann.
Speaking to the mourners, Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Linden, who is prosecuting Ray, said she had faith in Javad’s honesty and character.
“I had a better chance of proving Robert Ray’s guilt as an accessory to murder … with Javad as one of my witnesses,” she said. “I knew the jury would listen to him and believe him. … Everyone involved is working hard, pursuing every lead, to find the monsters who did this.”
The Rev. Acen Phillips said the hunt for the killers will be relentless.
“The community is not intending to be silent,” he said. “We will find the person. … It really takes a village to protect a child. It will take the whole village to solve this crime.”
But Phillips said Thursday wasn’t about “funeralizing” or seeking vengeance. It was about celebrating two lives that meshed so well – two 22-year-olds, raised by single mothers who shared a passion in life, laughter and learning.
Vivian was born in Colorado Springs and was named after actress Vivien Leigh of “Gone With the Wind” fame.
Her father, St. Clay Wolfe, was chief nurse at Fort Carson but died two months after Vivian’s birth. Her mother, Myong Wolfe, was a Korean immigrant who barely knew English.
Suddenly single, she struggled at first but eventually became a successful Realtor and owner of a rafting business.
Myong Wolfe taught Vivian to be a strong, independent woman. Vivian went to CSU on her father’s GI bill and graduated in 4 1/2 years with a bachelor’s of science in nutrition.
Friends remembered her for her voice that could fill a room, her infectious laughter and smile and her love for animals and babies. She planned to become a doctor or midwife.
“She was very strong,” said her brother, Yong Wolfe of Virginia Beach, Va. “She never cared about what anyone thought about her.”
To Javad’s friends, he was “Jay.” He was born in Greeley and grew up in Aurora, graduating from Smoky Hill High School with honors. He played basketball, was on a debate team and loved music. He followed his entrepreneurial spirit, running a small music-performance business. His goal was to become a lobbyist or work with a Fortune 500 company.
Javad graduated from CSU in May but hadn’t received his diploma yet. A group from CSU presented his mother, Rhonda Fields, with her son’s framed diploma.
Maisha Pollard, Javad’s sister, said her brother had a strong faith, and he had a plan.
“Life is about the legacy that you leave behind,” she said, looking down at his casket. “He had vision. He had purpose. …
“Javad, I love you. Goodbye for now.”
Staff writer Jeremy Meyer can be reached at 303-820-1175 or jpmeyer@denverpost.com.
CRIME-STOPPERS
Anyone with information regarding the killing of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe should call Aurora police at 303-739-6013 or Crime-Stoppers at 720-913-STOP (7867).
