RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Crowds gathered Sunday for a celebration of life for Brian Hiltebeitel, who was killed at a Palm Beach Gardens golf course in November.
His girlfriend Dina Lauro, said he helped build her business Dina's Vegan Deli and Desserts. Although it's been months since he was killed, Lauro said Hiltebeitel's memory lives on.
"They miss that big jovial spirit," Lauro said. "Him coming out and playing with the kids. Just being a big part of life here, the heartbeat here."
While a suspect has been arrested and charged in Hiltebeitel's death, family and friends are left to navigate through the loss.
“Every morning when I wake up, it just feels like, 'Oh, I'm in it again,'" Lauro said. "It's really hard."
Lauro was Hiltebeitel's girlfriend of 18 years. On Sunday, she stood alongside her mother, Nancy Lauro, to remember Hiltebeitel. They said he was a light and with an infectious spirit.
"Brian loved life," Nancy Lauro said. "He and Dina were the happiest and every day they’d tell me how happy they were together."
Dina said Hiltebeitel was not only her partner but an important figure in her business.
"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have Dina's. He was the do-er, I had the ideas. He's the glue," Dina said. "It was an empty warehouse in here and he put everything — every screw, painted everything. He was so handy.”
During Sunday's event, loved ones and customers shared memories of Hiltebeitel.
Stephanie Lopez, who is an employee at Dina's, worked alongside Hiltebeitel for six years and feels the loss.
"Waking up this morning and knowing that I was going to have to come and do this today was really tough," Lopez said.
She remembers playing catch with Hiltebeitel years ago. The last time she saw him, they did the same.
"When we were really still in the beginning that's something that we would do. Throw around the football just to kind of pass the time," Lopez said. "That was kind of ironic how it happened to be a full circle moment for us together."
Now, the business will honor him along with conversations and every meal they serve up.
"Our staff here, he was just so great with them. They miss him terribly. He was like their second dad," Dina said. "They miss that big jovial spirit."
