Yountville Victims Remembered As Selfless, Dedicated

YOUNTVILLE, CA — The three women taken hostage and killed by a gunman at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville lived their lives selflessly to serve others and the country's veterans, the Mayor of Yountville, John Dunbar, said at a press conference Saturday.

The three women worked for the Pathway Home, a rehabilitation center for veterans that operates on the campus of the veterans home in Yountville. The facility lost its executive director, 48-year-old Christine Loeber, the clinical director, 42-year-old Jennifer Golnick and a clinical psychologist, 32-year-old Jennifer Gonzalez Shushereba.

Loeber had just written an uplifting letter to the Pathway Home community, thanking the center's government partners. In her letter, she described the veterans home campus in Yountville as tranquil and said it was a perfect location for veterans to heal. She had taken over the Pathway Home 18 months ago.

Maura Turner, one of Loeber's friends who used to be her roommate in Boston, told The Press Democrat Loeber "radiated goodness and was a wonderful person." She enjoyed outdoor activities and incorporated Yoga into her work with veterans.

Cindy O'Brien, an aesthetician who Loeber would see, told The San Francisco Chronicle her client had a strong moral compass and was committed to doing the right thing.

"She would sleep in her office more often than not because she had to be there to fill a shift, that's the kind of personal dedication she showed all of us," Dunbar said.

Jennifer Gonzales Shushereba, a clinical psychologist at the home who was killed, had been married for just one year and was 26 weeks pregnant with her first child, according to a GoFundMe page set up to support her family.

"As a young psychiatrist, Jenn dedicated her life to helping service men and women reintegrate and readjust to civilian life," the page, established by her friends, says. "Every aspect of Jenn’s life was dedicated to others and her caring and kind spirit was evident to everyone she met."

Susan Hennessey, a fellow at the Brookings Institution, who was friends with Gonzales paid tribute to her friend in a series on tweets.

"Jenn was good, from head to toe," Hennessey wrote. "Thoroughly good in a way that is exceptionally rare. She made everyone who knew her better and she will be missed forever and ever. If you are the praying type, please keep her wonderful family in your prayers."

Marjorie Morrison, the founder of a nonprofit organization known as PsychArmor, recalled Gonzales as a "brilliant" talent who did amazing work with veterans with PTSD, and also focused on helping college campuses successfully reintegrate veterans when they return to school. Gonzales planned to travel to Washington, D.C. this weekend to celebrate her wedding anniversary, family friend Vasiti Ritova said.

Dunbar, the mayor of Yountville, also served on the board of the Pathway Home. He said the three women would be sorely missed on a professional level but even more so on a personal level.

"Each of them brought energy, vitality, personality to their jobs and that's so critical when we're talking about supporting our veterans that have post-traumatic stress and traumatic brain injury in particular," he said.

Jennifer Golick, 42, worked at the Muir Wood Adolescent and Family Services center in Petaluma before joining the Pathway Home. Scott Sowle, founder and executive director of the center, told the San Francisco Chronicle that Golick helped countless families heal. Sowle said many families had reached out to him to convey how Golick had changed their lives.

Golick's father-in-law, Mike Golick, said in an interview with The Associated Press that she had recently expelled Albert Wong, 36, who authorities identified as the gunman, from the program. After Wong entered the building, Golick called her husband to say she had been taken hostage by the former soldier, her father-in-law said. Golick also had an 8-year-old daughter, according to the Chronicle.

"We lost our executive director and two of our clinical psychologists, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to fill their shoes," Dunbar said. "Not so much from a skill set perspective but they had more than just professional skills, they brought a very unique sense of purpose and sense of humanity to their jobs. We know that there are others out there who are ready to step in and serve and we're gonna be looking forward to bringing them on to our team."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.

Main Image: This September 2012 photo provided by Tom Turner shows Christine Loeber, a victim of the veterans home shooting on Friday, March 9, 2018, in Yountville, Calif. Loeber was executive director of the Pathway Home, a treatment program for veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. (Tom Turner via AP)

Second Image: This undated photo provided by PsychArmor Institute shows clinical psychologist Jennifer Gonzales, a victim of the veterans home shooting on Friday, March 9, 2018, in Yountville, Calif. Gonzales was killed by a former patient at Pathway Home, a treatment program for veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Marjorie Morrison, the founder of a nonprofit organization known as PsychArmor, says Gonzales was "brilliant" and did amazing work with veterans with PTSD. (PsychArmor Institute via AP)