Friends, family and classmates gathered Wednesday at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Palmerton to pay final respects to teen siblings killed last week in a fiery crash.

The memorial service was held to remember Nathan Murray, 16, and his sister, Courtney Murray, 13, both of Palmerton.Both died at the scene of the Dec. 19 crash in Lower Towamensing Township, when the vehicle they were riding in crossed into the opposing lane of Dairy Road and struck an oncoming vehicle around 8:30 p.m.The vehicle the Murrays were in struck a tree and caught fire.“I knew my kids were loved, but I never expected this,” Melissa Hollenbach, Courtney and Nathan’s mother said Wednesday when entering the church. “I don’t even know some of these people, but I don’t consider them friends, I consider them family.”The Rev. Jody L. Neifert read a prayer remembering the siblings. “We thank you God for giving us Nathaniel and Courtney to know and to love in our journey on Earth,” he said. “Make us aware of the shortness and uncertainty of life so that we may turn our lives over to you.”Hollenbach described her children as fighters, noting that even when times were tough they would do “anything for anybody.”For more, read an upcoming print edition of the Times News.