| Community
pays tribute
By
Tara Nelson
Tears and a bit of laughter were shared as more than 1,000
people attended a joint memorial service for Kailey Walter
and Brittney Armstrong at the Blaine Performing Arts Center
Tuesday night.
More than a dozen large floral bouquets lined the PAC stage
and portraits of the girls stood framed with hundreds of
flowers.
A standing
room only crowd was diverted into the school’s
cafeteria with a live sound feed.
School
officials estimated the number of people in attendance
was about 1,200 to hear testimonies from the girls’ families
and friends.
The girls died in a three-car crash on Interstate 5 on
February 28 after returning from cheering on the Blaine
boys’ basketball
district qualifier in Mount Vernon against Meridian high
school.
Kailey’s
grandfather Don Walter spoke first, recalling occasional
funny moments in their lives together.
“I
know you don’t remember, but after you were
born, the following Sunday I announced to the church
that I had a granddaughter and her name was Bailey,” he
said. “And your grandmother signaled, ‘It’s
Kailey!’
“Then there was that night you
stayed at grandpa and grandmas house and a raccoon
looked in the window,” he
said. “And from that time on, you thought grandpa
and grandma’s house was spooky.
“Kailey, we miss you, we’re going to miss you,
especially on your birthdays and Christmases,” he
said.
“And
Kailey, if it’s all right
with you, we’ll
go ahead and have your birthday party, and we’ll
let Krista open your presents.”
“We
all knew Kailey was very opinionated, loud and
a big dreamer and the most beautiful girl in
the world,” said
her older sister Krista-Lena Crane. “But
she also had a maturity beyond her years.”Brittney’s
sister, Megan Armstrong, spoke about their friendship.
“You
are my sister and my best friend,” she
said. “We
could talk about anything for hours. I’m
never going to realize you’re gone because
you were there every single day of my life.”
Several
of the girls’ friends also took turns
speaking and supporting each other as they
sometimes got choked up on stage.
“Brittney
had a calm and soothing nature that made
her easy to spend all those years with,” one
friend said.
“We
had a great time together, whether it was hanging out with
the group or taking off together for
a day trip to go lay in the sun. She will
always be with us in our hearts.”
Brittney’s
boyfriend Craig Rothwell spoke surrounded
by several of his friends, all of whom
were dressed in red, Brittney’s
favorite color.
“She was my best friend, my soulmate and the love of
my life,” he said. “That
will never change.”
Kailey’s
family invites friends to share their
thoughts and memories in the online
memorial guestbook at www.greenacresmoles.com.
Individuals
may also share thoughts and memories of Brittney at www.molesfuneralhome.com (click on Bayview Chapel).
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