Vigil held for woman killed at Westside home

Loved ones remember Shirley Blakely

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Loved ones of a Jacksonville mother who was murdered in her Westside home gathered Saturday evening to remember her.

Jacksonville police said Shirley Blakely was killed Wednesday and loved ones are praying for strength.

Blakely was a mother, a sister and a grandmother who was loved by so many, and that love could be seen as people showed up in numbers to honor her memory. They lit candles and shared memories. You could barely spot a dry eye.

"It's just hard because she never bothered anybody, and that just hurt me in the inside, but God going to handle it," said her granddaughter, Miksha Taylor.

The 54-year-old was killed Wednesday during an attack at her home. It's still unclear how Blakely died and exactly who killed her, but her loved ones want to know why.

"She's one of those one-in-a-million, those people who you can never find or pay somebody to make," said Kayla Orr, a friend of the family. "She was irreplaceable. I love her with everything I got in me."

A real family gem is gone too soon, but as balloons were released, they made sure Blakely knows how much she will always be loved.

News4Jax spoke with Blakely's husband, who said it's still just too hard for him to talk at this time.