(Reuters) - A dozen people were killed in Monday's shooting rampage at the Washington Naval Yard. The three women and nine men ranged in age from 46 to 73 and included retirees, parents, a bird lover and a divorcee.
Here are some details of their lives.
KATHY GAARDE, 62
The mother of two loved animals and nature, and she liked to help count bluebirds for a local wildlife refuge in her spare time, her family said.
A financial analyst from Woodbridge, Virginia, Gaarde was an avid fan of the Washington Capitals hockey team and a season ticket holder for more than 25 years. The Chicago native had lived in the D.C. area for 38 years.
Her children are grown - ages 26 and 33, a family member in Minnesota told local media. The relative said Gaarde worked on military contracts at the Navy Yard and was nearing retirement.
In a statement, her family said: "Kathy was a caring daughter, fantastic mother, wife (of 38 years) and best friend for 43 years. She loved her animals and was a blue bird counter for the local refuge."
The family asked that donations be made in her memory to the Virginia Branch of the Humane Society.
GERALD L. READ, 58
Gerald Read was devoted to his job as a project manager in information assurance at the Navy Yard and also to animals, said his wife of 35 years, Cathy.
"We have four dogs - three Labs and an Irish Setter - and they are the life of the family," she said. "He always had a really good life-work balance."
Six years ago, the Alexandria, Virginia couple started a professional pet care company called Biscuit Break Pet Service, and their daughter now runs the business.
Read was a Civil War history buff and would watch battle re-enactments at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, his wife said.
They met when he was in college and she was a senior in high school, she said.
On the day of the shooting, Cathy Read said when she had not heard from her husband by 5 p.m., she began to worry.
"Then there was a knock at the door, and I thought it was him," she said.
Instead, it was someone coming to tell her that her husband was dead.
SYLVIA FRASIER, 53
The Waldorf, Maryland, resident came from a large religious family that spent the hours after the shooting waiting for news, praying and reading the Bible. According to the Washington Post, the family gathered at the home of her parents, both in their 80s, in Prince George's County.
Frasier, who was unmarried, worked on automated information systems and security of the network and information systems at Naval Sea Systems Command.
She received a Master's and Bachelor's degree from Strayer University, an online school that also has bricks and mortar campuses. More PTG
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