“She was so many things to so many people”; Madeline Kingsbury laid to rest Sunday

(ABC 6 News) – It was more than two months ago when Madeline Kingsbury went missing. On June 7, her body was found outside of Mabel in Fillmore county.

On Sunday, a funeral service was held for Maddi on the Winona State University campus.

What’s typically a college gym filled with thousands of cheering fans, was instead a gym full of hope and grief, as the family and friends of the beloved mother laid her to rest.

“She was so many things to so many people. Big smile and big heart. That’s Madeline,” said Holly Waterson who gave Maddi’s obituary.

The purple gymnasium turned many different shades of blue Sunday afternoon to honor Maddi’s life and the fight to bring her home.

“She was one of my advisees and we have remained friends after she graduated,” said Maddi’s college professor, Andrea Rossin.

Rossin says she misses her friend. Maddi is described as the caring person that was there for her when she faced tragedy herself after her son died in a car accident this past winter.

“Then Maddi did the Minnesota nice thing and asked if she could bring a meal over after we came home from the hospital. So, she did that and we visited for a while. And I think that just speaks to the kind, loving and generous person Maddi was. And she’s going to dearly missed. I know that last act of kindness will live on with me. She was just a blessing to everyone that was in her life,” said Rossin.

Many others say that she was a blessing even to those she did not know.

Diane Vaujin says she attended the funeral because it’s what the Winona community does.

“She brought people together in life and she brought people together in death. I just want to be there for them,” said Vaujin.

Maddi’s family is now left with the memory of her kindness, her work ethic, and her smile.

“To lean on a popular turn of phrase: The sky is the limit. But if the sky was truly her limit, who knows what she would have gone on to do,” said Steven Kingsbury, Maddi’s brother.

At the service, the song ‘This Little Light of Mine’ was played with many saying it was fitting, due to Maddi being described by loved ones as a light in a dark world.

They also said it resembled the blue lights and ribbons that people put in their windows, front doors and fence posts throughout the months-long effort to lead Maddi home.

Finally, she is home.