Transcripts of Family’s Speeches at Caylee’s Memorial.

I know the family chose their words very carefully for this service so I wanted to look at exactly what they had to say. So, I transcribed their speeches–Hours of work here so if you use it pls link back. I think they were really trying to reach out to Casey and I understand that they love her- I’m just trying to determine what they believe as to her involvement. Are they in touch w/and dealing w/reality? No one is in their shoes so its hard to say what one would do but I do have to say I was surprised to hear so much talk about Casey at this memorial. What do you think?

Lee Anthony went first.

I’d like to take this oppty to thank everyone who’s had any sort of role in making today a special day. Thank you. If I could ask something of anybody who’s willing to hear it, it would be this….for those of us that are frightened or angry or mournful or that just don’t understand, I ask that you fill your heart w/patience and grace and that you allow yourself to yield any judgements that you may already have. For those of us that will never be the same again, I ask that you fill your heart w/hope and forgiveness and you allow yourself to cope and heal. Finally, for those of us that have the knowledge and the means to facilitate the answers that my family deserves I ask that you fill your heart w/compassion and truth and I ask that you allow your conscience to speak for you when your mind cannot comprehend the right words to say. I sincerely hope that this day allows those affected by it to take from it whatever it is that you need to take – if its closure you seek here today I certainly hope you’re able to find it. Today is the day to remember, today is the day to pay tribute, today is the day for this family to unite and display their solidarity and strength. I’ve got to tell you that its hard to stand up here and be the pillar of strength. This family is united! But this family is incomplete. I’m incomplete. (breaking down a bit) I’m broken. C- M- A (pauses to kiss his wrist where some speculate he has a CMA tattoo) C- M- A, each day you continue to teach me about life, and about the way that it should be lived, each day you give me the ability to be strong or to be weak. Its been so long since I’ve been able see you or to hug you or to tell you how much you mean to me. C-M-A I miss you, (breaking down) I love you, I am so proud of you, I hope you’re proud of me too. I need you to know that I will never forget the promise that I made to you. I will never forget.

George Anthony’s memorial speech for Caylee follows:

I stand here today proud to be the grandfather of Caylee Marie Anthony. I’m standing here today proud to have Cindy by my side, to have Lee up here w/me, to have Mallory, to have my mother in law, my brother’s in law, my father, I wish my father could be here today my mother can’t be here today. I’m thankful for friends, I’m thankful for Sherry and Dennis (KidFinders). I’m thankful for everyone who’s here to pay tribute to a beautiful little girl who not only meant the world to me but meant the world to my family and so many of you who never go the chance to actually hug her, or smell her hair, smell the sweet sweat when she came in from outside. To hear her call me JoJo, sure I was Grand Pa but I was JoJo to her. Some days when I wouldn’t maybe just pay attn to her for just a second, she would get right in my face JoJo, Grand Pa, Grandpa JoJo, (imitating Caylee) George, she knew me, she knew how to push me to smile at her and hug her. I miss that kiss on the cheek, that special hug. I tell everyone its so great to get a hug from someone but to get a hug from a small child- that gives me energy like you cannot imagine. Herkey sang a song here just a few moments ago, everyone has sang here today from their heart, from their gifts that God gave to them, the music that was played the pastor’s that are here today, to not only lift me up but to lift all of us up. Its God’s day, its Caylee Marie Anthony’s day today. I’ve talked a lot about Caylee to many many of you at our command center that we had, I miss that command center. But you know something, the command center needed to close at one time and that was hard for me and it still is hard for me to drive by different places where we had our tent, our gray building where we held t shirts buttons writstbands and banners not only of Caylee but of other missing children. There are people here today that are family united and what that family united are- they’re missing their children and if there’s anything at all that any of us can ever do is to look for these children that are missing, that need to be brought home, no matter what, no matter what. At the Eastside Baptist Church there were these banners that were behind me and I always talked about them each time we had a prayer vigil and on my right, there was one behind my right shoulder that said “Doing Whatever It Takes” – and I took every single day to do whatever it took, to find Caylee, to keep my family together also to look out at everyone that came to see me or even today and tell you– hug your family, hug those children tell them how much you love them bc I’ll tell you they can be gone in a second and the little things they do, when they’re not around to do them, your heart breaks, your heart breaks even more. Caylee Marie Anthony’s determination to me– its going to make you laugh when I tell you this, but I was fortunate and I’m still fortunate to live in a house w/3 very determined women in my life. Sure Caylee might be in God’s heaven right now but her presence is still at home w/me everyday. I can close my eyes and I can see her coming from her bedroom, w/her silly little glasses on or her beads whatever it might be to make me laugh. She was a comedian to me. She cherished not only time that I had w/her but cherished everyday that she was around each and every one of us. Friends, family that got a chance to hold her, got a chance to know who she was, a chance to smile at this little girl you would know exactly how I feel right now. There’s a special food that my grand daughter ate every time that we had it in front of her, were green beans, green beans. Some of us might think oh my favorite thing is cheese cake, I love cheese cake- but Caylee loved vegetables she loved green beans, she would eat them so quickly and I would think wow how could she make them disappear, but that was her food. Nights that I had popcorn w/her which was pretty, almost every night, a special little bowl Sponge Bob Square Pants. I’m also fortunate and I hope that I’m the one that actually taught her, “You Are My Sunshine,” she was my sunshine. I have a locket right now w/me and it has “My sunshine my Caylee” on it, when that was placed on me just a few days ago, the warmth inside of me, I felt her, not only every day but I really felt her more and more. I sang Sponge Bob Square Pants song w/her and as hard as it was for my voice to do that…. (sings a bit of the song – Cindy says do it- a moment of levity) you know how it goes and you know something she would try to do it in that little gravely deep voice that she had and we would dance around the house and my family would say to me Oh my God, grow up, but you can’t grow up w/a small child around you, you never grow up we’re still children at heart. A lot of us know hopefully everyone must know– If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands- stomp your feet- nod your head- say amen- there are so many different lyrics you can put w/that. Paul knows what I mean w/that- he does it w/his children. Veggie Tales, some of you might know what Veggie Tales are- wow you talk about a meaning in Veggie Tales, what they inspire, the spiritual aspiration of what Veggie Tales are– if you don’t know what it is pls get some for you children, or grandchildren or better yet, just sit down and watch it yourself. Wow what inspirational colorful stuff you’re going to get out of it. I’m thankful for watching DVDs w/my grand daughter, some of her favorite ones were 101 Dalmations but to her they were dow dalmations, she would sit for hours watching Dalmations, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi, wow, Lady and the Tramp. I’m not going to say how much I’m going to miss things that I won’t be able to do w/her bc someday I’ll be able to hold her hand again in God’s heaven, I’ll be able to take her on wagon rides, I’ll be able to kiss her, I’ll be able to smell her again. If she could look down right now, which I know she is, like my son said she would want us all to take today as a day to not only remember her, pray for us, keep our family together, but also to pray for her mom. I miss my daughter Casey, don’t pass any judgements bc I’ll tell you, you don’t want to be in any of our family’s shoes not matter what it is. Casey deserves prayer, she deserves understanding, she deserves love, she deserves letters. Take the time to write a letter to her. It could just say “Hi Casey, I’m thinking about you today” – if you could do it for me I would love it, if you could do it for my son, for Cindy, if you could do it for Caylee. You know there are so many things that you want to say and you don’t want to get to wordy you don’t want to bore anyone and I hope I haven’t done that but just know that I’ve got a second chance in my life, to spread the word, to help KidFinders to help missing children, to help my friend Brad. I’m so thankful he came into our lives and has helped us and guided us and I’m going to be leaning on him more. In church I’ve been fortunate enough w/Herkies and w/Glen to stand up and sing in church Lean On Me – I don’t have a good voice by no means by no imagination but I’ll tell you what when you get something inside of you that you have compassion for that you have love for its really something how you can sing pretty well. I’m glad that these guys are standing behind me for support and strength, I’m glad for all of you that came hear today. I didn’t wear the traditional white shirt today, I wore lavender. It was given to me and to go get this shirt and Brad even wore one today bc we talked about it. This was Caylee’s favorite color. Brad also said to me last night- its part of the rebirth I guess it is a rebirth. There’s a new normal for us in our family. There’s no such thing as it used to be, there’s a new normal every single day. Though there may still be some negativity out there, its going to turn to positive things bc more and more people are going to see that you need to be positive to get through life. God bless everyone, thank you for coming today and pls again, just hope and prayer for all of us. (Standing Ovation.)

Cindy Anthony’s memorial speech for Caylee follows:

Some of you know that I’ve been battling a cold the last few weeks so I hope I get through this. I’m armed-I’ve been armed for months w/my trinkets my bracelets my Caylee bracelets (gestures to jewelry) Caylee (button w/pic), Casey (shamrock button/sticker– Brad Conway BTW said to reporters outside that that shamrock was representing Caylee) I love you, missing children (ribbon) — I like jewelry but its getting ridiculous, my arm’s getting heavier and heavier but it brings me peace. I remember the day that Casey came to me to tell me the news that I would be a grand mother as though it was yesterday. I remember her beauty and her radiance as she spoke. My immediate reaction was of total peace and joy. I knew that our lives would be blessed but I never realized just how blessed until the day that Caylee Marie was born. The moment I saw Caylee Marie and the instant she was placed in my arms, she stole my heart forever. My heart just melted. I knew from then on that her heart was strong and that she would be a very special child. Caylee was a perfect baby. I remember one day when I came to pick her up from Holly’s house, Holly was telling me about an outing she had at Publix and how Holly said people just kept coming up to her and wondering what was going on bc Caylee was there squealing and laughing and carrying on and Caylee had a voice, even when she was a baby, she had a voice I remember Lee saying, mom- she’s so loud! She wouldn’t wake up crying she’d wake up laughing. She’s wake up cooing, she’d wake up just smiling. She was always a happy child. She loved her family very much, she loved her animals, she lover her Tinker and her Tilly her Ho Ho and her Pay Pay. They were the best of friends, in fact Tilly and Tinker still look for Caylee, even today. Caylee’s favorite pastimes were coloring, reading stories, finger painting, having a tea party. At her tea party she’d have Elmo, Mr. Pib and her Teddy bear and then Caylee and she’d set the table and pour them all some tea and she’d have a grand old time. She loved playing dress up. George shared w/you she loved to come out and she’d have her beads on and she wouldn’t have one strand she’d have 50 and she had a whole trunk full of beads. She loved Spiderman, she’d come out in her Spiderman socks and her Spiderman t shirt, she loved Cinderella. She loved those crazy glasses w/the furry eyebrows and the big nose. George covered some of the movies, she loved 101 Dalmations, Monsters Inc, Bambi I and II, we’re still not sure to this day which one she liked better, she’d watch them both back and forth 3 and 4 times in the day. She did love her Veggie Tales, her Sponge Bob and her Baby Einstein movies. Caylee loved music, in fact Caylee was so good at keeping a beat that George was seriously considering getting her a drum set for her 4th bday. Caylee loved the water and she was becoming a good swimmer. Her and I used to spend a lot of time together in the pool and I’m going to miss those days. My favorite times, when she would come in on Sunday morning and wake me up and her face would be right in my face — CeCe wake up and she would be right there. I loved sitting in the reclining chair reading the stories w/her. Every night before we’d go to bed she would go outside and look at the stars and want to say good night to the stars and the moon, and if it was a cloudy night we’d say well, the stars have already gone to bed, they’re covered up w/a blanket that God gave them bc they were cold. Hearing her call out my name and tell me how much she loved me, talking to her on the phone. Every night I would drive home from work and she would tell me about her day. Watching her eyes light up when her Jo Jo came into the room, hearing her talk about her Uncle E and Aunt Mawry. Mostly the things I miss is watching the love that she shared w/her mother. It breaks my heart today that Casey is not with us to honor her child whom she loved so very very much. Casey I hope you’re able to hear me today, I love you and I wish I could comfort you right now. I wish I could take away all of your pain and wipe away your tears. I want to thank you for giving me the greatest gift that I have ever received and that is for Caylee Marie. Caylee was so much like you, she got her beauty and her compassion, she had your spirit and she will always love you. She knows that she was loved by her family and that’s all that’s important. Stay strong my child God will keep you safe and Caylee is watching over all of us. God has blessed me w/3 children, 3 beautiful children -I love them all unconditionally. I thank God every time that I’ve had w/my children, I’ve learned to trust in God, I’ve put my faith in his hands and he has given me the courage and the strength to go on. Its all about hope its all about faith, its all about believing and obeying in our God. There’s so much suffering in our world these days and it seems like there is very little hope. But I believe that Caylee’s purpose was to teach us about having hope. I remember the first wkd right after we reported Caylee missing we got a call about a little girl that was found, she was found in W Virginia and there was hopes that this might be Caylee, but I remember them telling us not to keep our hopes too high. We did find out later that it wasn’t Caylee but we weren’t upset were we? (George says no.) We were actually relieved bc we knew that the efforts of looking for Caylee that another child was reunited w/their family and their heartache was over. There were many days and weeks and months that hope was all we had, we never gave that up. We realized that hope was everything, it kept us getting up every morning and living another day. It has led us to many new friends and has reunited us w/many old friends. Hope is what we need more of, its what we need more of to make this world a better place. With hope we can wipe out negativity, w/hope we can concentrate on our faith. Faith is why I stand before you today w/a smile. (music starts in the bkgrd) I would never have been able to endure the pain and suffering that I have felt the last 7 months w/out my faith. Faith is why I’ve asked you all here today to share our love for Caylee Marie. I have faith that when you leave this church that today your hearts will be filled w/love and your minds will be open to giving of yourself to your lord and to your fellow man. Caylee Marie has taught some to love a child whom they’ve never met. Caylee Marie had brought thousands of strangers from all religious backgrounds together in one church to pray, how great is that? It shouldn’t take the death of a child to love our God and our fellow man. Think about it. Go our and make a difference in someone elses lives, do something positive. Watch it grow into something big. Let’s stop the negativity and the speculation. Let’s stand up for our right to live in a world filled w/hope and faith and love. Remember God loves all his children unconditionally.