Nevada Couple Wed at Funeral of Daughter, 2

The parents of a 2-year-old girl who was accidentally struck and killed by her father’s truck got married at the funeral in front of the child’s open casket.

Mark Macdonald, 40, said he wanted his wedding to take place with his daughter there.

Macdonald and Ann Scarpelli had been living together for nearly six years but never married, in part because they couldn’t afford a big ceremony, Scarpelli said.

Their daughter, Cherish Justine Macdonald-Scarpelli, was killed April 28. Macdonald told police he did not realize she had wandered into an alley behind their home. No charges were filed.

“I suggested it would be very good for everyone concerned if the parents finally married,” said the Rev. James Burns, who performed the wedding Thursday at a funeral home.

The couple’s 3-year-old son served as best man at the ceremony before 25 friends and relatives. The funeral was held immediately afterward.

Scarpelli said she was glad to have shared the wedding with both of her children.

“You know what they say: For every wedding there’s a death. For every death a wedding,” she said.