Mourners at a memorial service honoring the victims of the Sago Mine explosion release balloons Sunday outside of Wesley Chapel on the West Virginia Wesleyan campus in Buckhannon, W.Va.

Buckhannon, W.Va. ? The 12 miners who died together beneath the West Virginia hills were remembered Sunday as men who loved their families, God, NASCAR, and a good laugh.

“I’m sure there was a prayer meeting goin’ on in that ol’ coal mine the other evening like we’ve never seen before,” Pastor Wease Day told more than 1,800 people gathered at the memorial service at the West Virginia Wesleyan College chapel.

“I can hear Jim Bennett hollerin’ ‘Boys you need the Lord in your life.’ And I can hear (George) Junior Hamner say ‘Does anybody got any cards? Let’s play a round.’ I can hear them now,” said Day, whose Sago Baptist Church became the center for families and others who gathered to await word of their loved ones after an explosion in the Sago Mine.

Bennett, 61, and Hamner, 54, were among the 12 miners who died after a Jan. 2 explosion as they reopened the mine following a holiday break. Investigators have yet to re-enter the mine to determine what went wrong. The blast killed one miner immediately and spread carbon monoxide that slowly killed the 11 others as they waited 260 feet below ground for rescue.

The only survivor, Randal McCloy Jr., 26, remained in a coma Sunday.

McCloy’s wife, Anna, attended the memorial service and was the first of the miners’ families to light 13 candles of honor. First lady Gayle Manchin handed each family a statue of a coal miner.

“We cannot know the purpose of this tragedy,” said Gov. Joe Manchin, “but I pledge to you we will determine the cause.”