The courthouse in Kaufman County is quiet again today, as friends and family of district attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia are laid to rest. But it's the memories here, in this square, that so many will remember.
Not often can the feelings of a person, their emotions, their personality, become a tangible item.
For Cynthia McClelland, her love of quilting allowed her to take the threads of her relationships with her husband and her friends, weave them together and make a quilt.
One of her quilts, on display in a shop just steps from the county courthouse where she taught a weekly quilting class, is called Log Cabin Hearts.
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"If there was ever anything that symbolized Cynthia, it was heart," said Cathy Spurlock, owner of 2 Sisters Quilt Shoppe in Kaufman. "And she had a huge one."
Spurlock and friend Bonnie Delay quilted with Cynthia, and say the feelings they have are shared by most in Kaufman.
"It's a hurt, it's an emptiness," Delay said. "That's the selfish part of it. Part of why we're so sad is we're selfish for what we're losing."
But being so close to the courthouse, and the recent violence, makes them nervous for their customers. Spurlock says she's not afraid, but wants her customers to feel safe.
A feeling she says may not be back here in Kaufman for a while. And while she's sad for her loss, she says her faith is keeping spirits up.
"I have a wide range of feelings this week," Spurlock said. "I know she's in a better place. I know where she is. And I wouldn't wish her or Mike back from there for anything."
