MARYSVILLE — One hundred days after the Marysville-Pilchuck school shooting that left five dead and three injured, the congregation of St. Mary’s Catholic Church acknowledged Jan. 30 that the community, the families who lost loved ones and the survivors have a lot of healing to do.

In the case of 14-year-old M-PHS freshman Nate Hatch, that healing is both emotional and physical, as his grandfather, former Marysville school and Tulalip Tribal board member Don Hatch Jr., shared with attendees of the church service, after the mass had concluded.

“Nate’s got three more operations left to go, but nothing can compare to the memories this has left him with, which will never go away,” Don said. He noted that events as diverse as fireworks displays and the recent spate of school bomb threats have all compounded Nate’s trauma. “When he sees those things, he just relives it all over again.”

Don credited Nate’s mother, as well as the family of shooting victim Andrew Fryberg, with doing what they could to help Nate recover.

“Since Andrew died, his family has practically adopted Nate,” Don said. “They live right next door, so they were already really close.”

Even after 50 years of working with children, Don admitted that he has no idea what advice to give to his grandson.

Don was joined at the mass by Snohomish County Executive John Lovick and Marysville Mayor Jon Nehring, the latter of whom echoed Hatch’s assertion that Marysville and Tulalip are one community.

“Different people heal at different rates,” Nehring said after the service. “A lot of people, not just our kids, are still hurting and working their way through this, and we shouldn’t leave any of them behind. We should stand with them. Of course, Nate is an inspiration to us all, but those who have the longest road back are the families who lost their loved ones.”

St. Mary’s Father Dwight Lewis was joined by Father Emmanuel Iweh, parish priest of St. Anne’s Mission in Tulalip, in addressing the attendees.

“Just as it takes a village to raise a child, so does it take all of us in the church’s family to make good citizens of our young ones,” Iweh said.

Lewis added: “We all have work to do, because this must never happen again. We must listen to our children and let them speak. Even if they don’t say anything, it doesn’t mean they have nothing to say. Young people can go through big problems. If we don’t embrace them, who will?”