Family and friends of Grace Ross celebrate her life on her birthday

 

NEW CARLISLE, Ind. -- Family and friends gathered on Hudson Beach to celebrate what would have been Grace Ross's seventh birthday.

"It's bittersweet, because we buried her ashes today," said Kelli Howard, Grace's paternal grandmother. "We're gonna have a balloon release."

Ross was killed in March earlier this year; her death was a shock to the community. The suspect, a fourteen-year-old, is still awaiting trial.

Grace's family have taken the day to celebrate her life, and remember the little girl that she was.

Howard said "She was very spunky, a character. A lot of energy. She liked to play outside, she loved the beach-- that’s one of the reasons they’re having this here.”

As the sun set, Ross's family and friends, dressed pink and purple- her favorite colors- all released biodegradable balloons into the sky.

Howard says that life without Grace has been tough.

“We have better days than some, but there’s hasn’t been a day where I have not cried," said Howard. "I just miss her so much.”

But she knows that while Grace may be gone, she will not be forgotten by anyone who knew her. 

BUT HOWARD KNOWS THAT WHILE GRACE MAY BE GONE, SHE WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN BY ANYONE WHO KNEW HER.

“The unbelievable amount of love that she gave and received- she was loved from the second that she was known that she existed," said Howard. "Anybody that met her loved her.”

Howard did offer a word of caution to those with children, telling them to be safe, and to be wary of strangers, to to prevent what happened to Grace Ross from happening to anyone else.