During a tearful address at his memorial in Arizona, Charlie Kirk's widow said she forgave the man accused of killing him, and that the conservative activist wanted to "save young men just like the one who took his life."

“I forgive him because it was what Christ did and it is what Charlie would do,” Erika Kirk, 36, said to a standing ovation at Glendale, Arizona. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love.”

Choking up at times and dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief, Erika Kirk recalled arriving at a Utah hospital on the day of her husband’s death to do the “unthinkable” and “look directly at my husband’s murdered body.” She was shaken and felt "a level of heartache that I didn’t even know existed."

The memorial, organized by Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA organization, was held at State Farm Stadium in Glendale. People had lined up before dawn to attend the service and listen to conservative leaders and his loved ones remember the 31-year-old who was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

Supporters praised Charlie Kirk, a close ally of the Trump administration, for his religious faith and vowed to continue his legacy.

'Even in death I could see the man that I love'

Erika Kirk detailed her husband's final moments, describing his death as "so instant" and that he felt “no fear, no agony."

“There was something else too,” she added. "Even in death, I could see the man that I love."

Erika Kirk said she detected the “faintest smile” on her husband’s lips. “It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy,” knowing he didn’t suffer, she said, wearing a white jacket and a diamond cross.

She said her husband wrote love notes to her every Saturday, calling it “our little secret” to keep the marriage strong. He ended the notes by saying, "How can I better serve you as a husband?" Erika Kirk said.

"My marriage with Charlie was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I know it was the best thing that ever happened to him as well," Erika Kirk said. "He wanted everyone to experience that joy."

She said her husband was passionate about helping young men who feel lost and have no direction.

"My husband, truly, he wanted to save young men, just like the one who took his life," Kirk said.

Second lady Usha Vance tells Erika Kirk exactly what she 'needed to hear'

A day after Charlie Kirk was killed, his body was returned to Arizona from Utah by Air Force Two after Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, met with the Kirk family in Salt Lake City. Charlie Kirk had been a friend and close political ally of the vice president.

During her eulogy, Erika Kirk recounted her conversation with second lady Usha Vance while they were aboard Air Force Two. She said she held Usha Vance's hand and told her, "Honestly, I do not know how I am going to get through this."

Erika Kirk said Usha Vance had comforted her, saying the moment was like the last 15 minutes of a plane ride with your children.

"Things are crazy. Kids are not cooperating. Toys are flying everywhere, and everyone’s screaming. And you think to yourself, 'I cannot wait for this flight to land.' And it’s 15 minutes before you land," Erika Kirk said. "And she told me, ‘You will get through these 15 minutes and the next 15 minutes after that.' Usha, I don’t think you realized it then, but those words were exactly what I needed to hear."

Erika Kirk named CEO of Turning Point USA

Erika Kirk also noted during the memorial service that her husband died with "incomplete work, but not with unfinished business." She called on men to follow her husband's example, saying: "Accept Charlie’s challenge and embrace true manhood."

“Please be a leader worth following,” she said. “Your wife is not your servant. Your wife is not your employee. Your wife is not your slave. She is your helper. You are not rivals. You are one flesh, working together for the glory of God."

Just days after Charlie Kirk was fatally shot, Erika Kirk promised in a speech that she would continue her husband’s work. She said in her first public appearance since her husband was killed that “the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”

“The evil-doers for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said in her address, posted to Turning Point USA's YouTube page.

Contributing: Kathryn Palmer, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Charlie Kirk's widow forgives shooting suspect: 'It is what Charlie would do'

Reporting by Zac Anderson and Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect