'She wasn't going to be someone. She already was someone.'
Lively, lovable 7-year-old remembered in Langley, B.C., memorial service
Mourners wore pink and purple ribbons pinned to pink and purple clothing and Girl Guide uniforms as they gathered Tuesday to remember Aaliyah Rosa, the seven-year-old girl who was killed last month in Langley.
The stage at Christian Life Assembly church was also decorated with pink and purple, her favourite colours.
Girl Scout leader Marnie Campbell, who had been camping recently with Rosa, remembered her as vibrant, fun and an incredible young salesperson.
"Girl Guide cookies are $5 a box, but Aaliyah would walk up to the door and say, 'Two boxes for $10!' "
"She sold two boxes every time. An entrepreneur, right from the start."
Headstrong and loving
Each speaker described Rosa as confident and headstrong, but also loving and empathetic.
Nadia Causley, whose daughter Stella was Rosa's best friend, says the little girl's personality matched her wild and curly hair.
"She was a true free spirit," Causley said.
"For better or worse, that girl couldn't enter a room without you knowing it."
Trish Wright, one of Rosa's after-school teachers, says she could be confrontational, but won people over with her magnetic energy.
"If one of the children got hurt, she'd be the first to run over to offer hugs," she said. "She would also be the first to fight with the boys if they touched her Hot Wheels collection."
Mourners heard stories about Rosa's passion for her family, Taylor Swift songs and animals.
"She would leave no toy unplayed with and no swing unswung," Causley said. "She wasn't going to be someone. She already was someone."
Daddy's little girl
Rosa was found dead in her Langley, B.C., apartment in the 20000 block of 68th Avenue on July 22. A 36-year-old woman who was also at the scene was taken to hospital and put under medical care.
No one has been charged in her death which is being investigated by the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team.
An online fundraising page for the girl's father has raised more than $28,000.
"Aaliyah is in her dad's big, broken heart," Causley said.
Pastor Bill Ashbee, who presided over the service, says the last few weeks have been incredibly difficult for the family. "There were two words, I think, that sum up the family and the two words that were said were love and family," he said.
"I think that's how Steve, the dad, is getting through."