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EUGENE, Ore. (AP) -- Brooke Wilberger's memory was honored Saturday with splashes of her favorite color, pink, found everywhere from the balloons to the attire of hundreds gathered to remember her.
The Brigham Young University student disappeared a little more than two years ago from outside a Corvallis apartment complex. Her remains have not been found.
The man police believe abducted and killed the 19-year-old awaits trial on other charges in New Mexico.
The family expressed their commitment to remembering Brooke's life, not her death.
At a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, people of many faiths gathered to celebrate her life. The walls of the chapel were covered with photo collages of Brooke.
""I had so much fun putting the pictures together, until I stopped to think what it was for," her mother, Cammy, said.
Some photos of Brooke's cheerful smile made the audience laugh.
Darrell Carman gave Brooke's eulogy, created by her parents and full of intimate stories of her life, from her love of snow angels to her determined nature.
She was a member of 4-H and an athlete, competing in basketball, softball, gymnastics and soccer. She was active in the church and took part in student government.
She attended BYU despite pleadings of her parents to attend Oregon State.
When her parents picked her up for the summer, her love of shopping was nearly her downfall. "We almost had to make a choice between bringing her shoes home and bringing her," her parents recalled in the eulogy.
Cammy wanted the audience to know that although fun was the best way to describe Brooke, there was more there.
"She cared a lot about her friends and took a lot of thought to do the things she did," Cammy said. She said Brooke's greatest fears were spiders and piano recitals.
Her older sister, Shannon Cordon, recited from one of Brooke's favorite hymns, "Each life that touches ours for good."
One of Brooke's best friends, Jessica Marks, recalled Brooke's ability to surprise her friends with fresh brownies, or to get her into trouble as they giggled about boys in the back of their classrooms.
"I miss a lot of things," Jessica said about her friendship with Brooke.
Bishop Larry Blake, who was Brooke's spiritual leader, took comfort in her Mormon faith, as did her family.
"While she lived here with us," Blake said, "she was preparing to meet God. She went about doing good."
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Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
