Funeral today for cancer-stricken teen whose wedding drew wide support

PHOTOGRAPHER: Patrick Dodson

The wedding ceremony for Jahaysia Graham and Jathyis LaJuett, both of Schenectady, at the Central Park Rose Garden in Schenectady on Friday, September 12, 2014.

Funeral services will be held today for Jahaysia Graham-LaJuett, the terminally ill teenage bride whose wedding garnered an outpouring of gifts and support far beyond her family and even her hometown.

A calling hour will be held beforehand, at 2 p.m. at Light’s Funeral Home, 1428 State St., Schenectady. The services themselves will begin at 3 p.m.

Graham-LaJuett was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma in January 2013. When staff members of The Community Hospice heard that Graham-LaJuett and her fiance, Jathyis LaJuett, 20, were having difficulty planning a wedding they offered to organize the ceremony.

Word spread rapidly on various social media platforms, and the Sept. 12 wedding in Schenectady’s Central Park Rose Garden attracted hundreds of community members.

The Community Hospice contributed money for the wedding from its Wish Fund, and donations from other local sources and across the country flooded in as the couple’s wedding plans went viral on social media.

Graham-LaJuett died Thursday night at Ellis Hospital surrounded by her husband and family. She was 19.

Condolences may be extended to the family at www.sbfuneralhome.com.