Critically injured, Carolyn Tuft inched closer to her dying daughter, grabbed her hand and spoke words of reassurance to the teenager.
"I pulled myself close to her, held her hand and told her I loved her," Carolyn Tuft said during the funeral for Kirsten Hinckley, 15. "And that's when she drew her last breath."
The last of the Trolley Square shooting victims was buried Wednesday under balmy skies — a service delayed so Tuft could attend after being released from the hospital earlier this week.
Her talk during the one-hour service at the LDS Butler Stake Center, near 3300 East and 7000 South, was the most emotional of the afternoon.
She walked gingerly and was assisted by her sons as she climbed the chapel stairs to the podium. She thanked everyone at LDS Hospital as well as the law enforcement community, both those who responded the night of the massacre and those who have helped the family since.
"I am very blessed to be standing here today," she told the large crowd that extended into the overflow seating in the gymnasium. "It's a miracle I'm not with Kirsten."
Tuft said she had been overwhelmed by the cards, letters, e-mails and flowers she has received from people all over the world.
"Who knew such a horrible tragedy could affect so many people?" she asked.
Hinckley, Jeffrey Walker, Vanessa Quinn, Teresa Ellis and Brad Frantz were all shot and killed Feb. 12 when 18-year-old Sulejman Talovic went on a random killing spree inside the mall.
But it was not the horror of the tragedy that dominated Wednesday but rather the memory of the teenager with the infectious smile who had a natural gift to draw the warmth of others to her.
Tuft recalled that her daughter loved to jump in puddles, watch bugs crawl across the pavement, snuggle with her in bed and stay up talking for hours with her about everything from dolls to boys.
"She couldn't wait to go to the prom and hoped she'd get asked," her mother recalled.
But while Tuft was recovering at the hospital and her friend brought a batch of cookies to cheer her up, the reality of what had happened became clear when she instinctively tried to put a cookie in her pocket to save for her daughter when she went home.
"At that moment my heart sank and the reality hit me that Kirsten wasn't home to receive that cookie," she said tearfully.
Kirsten Hinckley's brother, Scott Hinckley, recalled how he teasingly called her "road runt" after the Looney Tunes Roadrunner character. It was appropriate because Hinckley was a fast learner, except in spelling, said Scott Hinckley, who playfully remembered her badly misspelled letters.
She was also fast to love, he said.
"Kirsten was always there for everyone," he said.
Scott Hinckley fondly remembered many vacations with his sister or just the times they would drive in his car looking for a 7-Eleven, not always the closest one, to buy Slurpees while listening to heavy metal music.
"All I have now is memories," he said. "Anything you do from this day forward, take Kirsten with you."
Scott Hinckley said his sister would never learn to drive, wear a prom dress, graduate high school, get married or have children.
"She will not get to because of the selfish act of one person," he said. "She left a fire burning in all our hearts that will never be extinguished."
Other speakers remembered Kirsten Hinckley's love for architecture and how she aspired to go to school in England and possibly live there one day.
The hymns "A Child's Prayer" and "Be Still, My Soul" were sung during the service.
Kirsten Hinckley was a sophomore at Brighton High School. Many of her classmates attended Wednesday's ceremony. During a performance of "Love One Another," members of Hinckley's sign language class signed the words to the song. Her family said sign was Hinckley's favorite class.
Also present at Wednesday's funeral were members of the Salt Lake County Sheriff Office's Cottonwood Heights precinct and the Unified Fire Department. Hinckley was given a ceremony just short of the type a deputy killed in the line of duty would have. A police motorcade and a UFA fire truck escorted the funeral procession to the cemetery. A deputy stood by her coffin during her viewing. And deputies and fire personnel lined the sidewalk and stood at attention as the teenager's coffin was wheeled from the church to the hearse.
Sheriff Jim Winder said it was important for his department to show its support because of the impact the tragedy has had on the entire community.
"It's been very difficult on our deputies," he said. "All of the members in our precinct know someone directly impacted."
Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore Jr. also paid his respects. He said it could have been anyone's daughter who was caught in the gunfire.
"You absolutely felt the pain the family felt," he said.
After the funeral, Kirsten Hinckley was buried at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Park.
Bishop Jack McDonald offered some words to the congregation before the funeral ended. He said the fact that Tuft was at the service walking on her own a "miracle." He also reminded the mourners to find comfort in their faith that they would one day see Kirsten Hinckley again — but to seek consolation now among fellow mourners.
"We've all changed a little since Feb. 12, 2007. We appreciate our family a little more," he said. "With Kirsten's passing we feel she has taken a little heaven with her. She'll never die if you don't let her. She'll only die if we forget."
E-mail: preavy@desnews.com