Aspiring sports reporter Ghawi narrowly avoided a shooting in Toronto just last month -- an incident that prompted her to reflect on life on her blog.

The Toronto shooting at the Eaton Centre left one person dead and seven wounded.

"I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change," she wrote at the time. "I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath."

Ghawi, who also went by the name Jessica Redfield, grew up in Texas and interned at Ticket 760, a sports radio station in San Antonio, before moving to Denver to try to break into the television market there.

A memorial service is scheduled for July 28 in San Antonio.

Petty Officer 3rd Class John Thomas Larimer, 27

Like his father and grandfather, Larimer chose to join the U.S. Navy. He was serving at his first post, said his father, Scott Larimer.

A Navy notification team officially informed the family in Crystal Lake, Illinois, around midnight Saturday, a statement from the family said.

"He was an outstanding shipmate, a valued member of our Navy team and an extremely dedicated sailor," said Cmdr. Jeffrey Jakuboski. "Sailors were really drawn to his calming demeanor and exceptional work ethic. He was also known as that quiet, extremely competent professional."

"He was doing extraordinarily well" and had a bright future ahead of him, Jakuboski said.

His unit, part of U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. 10th Fleet, was stationed at Buckley AFB. Larimer had been in the service for about one year. He had not seen combat.

"We send our thoughts and prayers out to the families of the other victims and those still recovering in the hospital," his family said. "We love you, John, and we will miss you always."

Matthew R. McQuinn, 27

McQuinn died trying to provide cover for his girlfriend, Samantha Yowler, during the shooting, according to family attorney Rob Scott.

Yowler and her brother Nick, who also was trying to protect her from the bullets, both survived.

Samantha Yowler, wounded in the knee, is expected to make a full recovery, Scott said. Nick was unharmed.

McQuinn and Samantha Yowler grew up in the Miami Valley region of Ohio, according to CNN affiliate WKEF. The two had been dating for a couple of years.

McQuinn graduated from Vandalia-Butler High School in 2004. The couple met at a Springfield, Ohio, Target store and moved last November to Denver, the Dayton Daily News reported.

The victim's stepfather, David Jackson, told CNN Dayton affiliate WHIO that the couple was planning to move back to Springfield soon.

"I know he's a hero," said Jackson. "He and Sam were very much in love and planning their life together. I am sure they were thinking very seriously of getting married soon."

Micayla C. Medek, 23

Medek, known to her friends as Cayla, was "very spiritual and close to God," cousin Anita Busch told CNN. Her family is tightly knit, Busch said.

Medek's Facebook page describes her as a "sandwich artist/closer" at Subway in Aurora, and a student of general studies at the Community College of Aurora with plans to graduate in 2015.

She lived in Westminster, Colorado, but was from Aurora, Busch said. "I'm a simple independent girl who's just trying to get her life together while still having fun," Medek wrote on her Facebook page.

Busch said the family did not learn of Medek's death for 19 hours. "We had been desperately trying to find her," she said.