FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (WUSA9) -- The family of Hannah Graham hosted a Celebration of Life gathering at West Potomac High School Saturday.
"I can't even go there in my own head for my own children, much less for somebody else's," said Kari Warren, a mother who told WUSA9 her daughter had played softball with Graham since the third grade.
"They're all young women now and to see them lose a friend like that under the circumstances that she lost her life, it's been – it's been devastating as a parent," said Kari Warren.
As a friend and former teammate Warren's daughter Tamara told WUSA9 she'll always remember, "…how good of a friend she was and such a great teammate."
"She was just always there to make someone feel welcome," said Tamara Warren.
It's that spirit that made Graham's parents decide to celebrate their daughter's life.
Hundreds of people packed Springbank Auditorium for the celebration on Saturday. Cameras weren't allowed inside but reporters were allowed to sit in on the celebration.
WUSA9's Stephanie Ramirez heard laughter as Hannah Graham's father, teachers, and others shared some of their favorite memories of Hannah. They talked about how intelligent she was, advancing a grade early-on and how she kept-up with academics while playing in the school band and on sports teams.
The community showed its support outside as well, painting a large boulder outside of the high school orange for the University of Virginia Student.
"She touched a lot of people's lives just being around them. When I looked at Hannah after I knew her for a couple of years, I looked at her and I said, 'She's going to change the world. She's going to do something and that's probably the hardest thing about it that she was so smart, intelligent," said Jamie Barr, another former teammate.
