Muscatine Community Rallies Around McFarland Family — Funeral Services Announced and Support Fund Established

The city of Muscatine is still reeling. In the weeks since one of the most devastating tragedies in the community’s recent memory, neighbors, strangers, and loved ones have been searching for ways to come together — and now, with funeral arrangements confirmed and a support fund in place, they have somewhere to direct that grief.

The Victims

Names of family members killed in multiple Muscatine shootings released

On a single afternoon, 52-year-old Ryan McFarland shot and killed six members of his own family before taking his own life after being confronted by police. The victims were:

Lisa McFarland, 51
Dakota Whitlow, 32
Austin Harris, 29
Riley McFarland, 20
Mark McFarland, 16
Ryan McFarland Jr., 13

Six lives. Six empty chairs. One community left trying to understand the unimaginable.

Funeral and Memorial Services

How to support the families of those killed in Muscatine shootings

The McFarland Family Services will be held next Friday at 10:30 a.m. at Saint Mary and Matthias Catholic Church in Muscatine. The service will honor the five McFarland family members lost in the shooting.

Separate services are being held for Dakota Whitlow and Austin Harris.

Dakota Whitlow’s memorial service was held this week, with a celebration of life planned for a later date. In his honor, memorials can be made to the Muscatine Center for Social Action, which funds a local domestic abuse shelter — a cause that carries particular meaning in the wake of this tragedy.

No public arrangements have been announced yet for Austin Harris.

How to Help

 

The Community Foundation of Greater Muscatine has established a direct support fund for the families affected by the shooting. Donations can be made at cfgm.org/supportfund and a link is also available through local news outlet WQAD.com.

For a community that has spent weeks asking what it can do, the answer is now clear — show up at the services, donate to the fund, and make sure the McFarland family knows that Muscatine has not looked away.

A Town That Refuses to Forget

The tribute Muscatine put together in the days following the shooting was a testament to what this community is made of. Flowers, photos, candles, and handwritten notes filled the memorial site as residents came out in the rain to stand together and remember six people who deserved so much more time.

Riley McFarland had just graduated from college. Ryan McFarland Jr. was only 13 years old.

The grief in Muscatine is real, and it is not going anywhere. But neither is the love this community has shown for the family it lost.

Compiled from various sources.