PROVO — Katelyn Mikolasy told her mom that when she died, she wanted to be an organ donor.
"Now she's done that," her mother, Patsy Brereton, said quietly. "Every tragedy has to have a silver lining somewhere. She was able to give, literally, of herself to save and help other people."
Mikolasy, or Kat as she was known to her friends, was always looking to help and befriend other people — even the 13-year-old boy who casually pointed a pistol at her head Friday night, not knowing it was loaded.
The gun went off and Mikolasy was shot in the face. She died before reaching the hospital, police said.
Kat, 16, had befriended the boy through their LDS ward and had helped him through some rough spots in his young life.
Police confirmed Monday that the semiautomatic pistol belonged to the boy's grandfather and was taken without his permission. Another .38 caliber pistol was found in the boy's room and was seized by police.
Provo Police Capt. Cliff Argyle said the grandfather normally keeps the guns locked in a safe and doesn't know how his grandson accessed them. The grandfather didn't even realize they were missing until after the shooting.
The boy was not arrested and has not been cited, although prosecutors will review the case to consider charges, police said.
Brereton said she was eager to speak with the boy's mother Monday, to tell her she loves her and holds no malice. And that she doesn't want charges filed.
"He's just a boy, he didn't mean to do it," she said. "I hope this incident shows him that he needs to turn around. But he's come a long way since Kat came into his life. She loved him because he wasn't perfect. She didn't hang out with the perfect people. Her friends were the people who needed friends. She believed in this young man. I believe in this young man."
Kat's influence was visible Monday at Timpview High School as most of the student body came dressed in their "Sunday best" in her honor. But many of them, like senior Maggie Brown, had never met the bubbly sophomore.
"I think it's pretty cool that even though the majority of the school didn't know her because she just moved here, we're all dressed up," Brown said, flanked by friends Caitlin MacKay and Casey King, all in skirts.
The Brereton family visited the school Monday for a memorial presentation and listened to the school's symphonic band play "Danny Boy" and "Be Still, My Soul," a family favorite.
"We thought we had to come here," Brereton said. "The kids are really hurting. It helped for us to hug them, and for us to see how many people loved our Kat."
Friends decorated a table in the school with mementos of Kat's, and one friend had even drawn a portrait. Friends also wrote notes to the family or shared their favorite memories of the happy teen.
Vanessa Henry, Kat's geometry teacher, said Kat walked into class each day with a smile.
"She knew how to laugh and have fun, but she was also very aware of what was going on around her," she wrote in a statement to the Deseret News. "She would always stick up for the minority, and she loved to cheer for the underdog."
Other teachers described Kat as bright, enthusiastic and a good friend.
"She had a style all her own and liked who she was," wrote Jeana Rock, Kat's eighth-period English teacher. "She got along with everyone in the class, even kids that were not accepted by the others."
Senior classmate Chris LaDow said his TV broadcast and video production class was too quiet Monday.
"She was the light of the class, the light of the group," LaDow said. "It's just not the same without her in the classroom."
The group of friends had been working on an eight-minute comedic film about Dungeons and Dragons addicts, which involved the boys in tights and Kat in a cape and gown, Brereton said.
Thursday, the group spent hours filming at Kat's home, and every five minutes Brereton would hear Kat's infectious laughter burst up from the basement.
Filming was supposed to resume Saturday morning, so friend Chase Naccarato headed to Kat's house.
"I was wondering why she wasn't picking up her phone," he said. Then Brereton told him the tragic news.
He hadn't known Kat for more than two months, but she was already a good friend and someone who could make him laugh. Kat had even asked him to Morp — the girls-invite prom equivalent — for Friday night.
"She was way funny," Naccarato said. "She was just a very fun, energetic girl. She was open minded and had a wide sense of humor so you didn't have to worry about offending her."
LaDow and friend James Daniel said they want to finish the movie in a slightly different way and present it to Kat's family in her memory.
Outside the school, stepsister Eliza Brereton, 20, choked back tears as she talked about her younger sister.
"This has been amazing to come and see how many people have been touched by her," she said. "I think that my life was touched probably one of the most by her."
Funeral services set for Thursday in Provo
Katelyn's funeral will be held at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, March 12, at the Edgemont South Stake Center, 2950 N. Canyon Road, in Provo. A viewing will be held there from 1 to 3 p.m. The burial will take place in Provo.
In lieu of flowers, the family has established a memorial scholarship that will help needs-based high school senior girls who want to attend college. Contributions can be made through any branch of Zions Bank under Katelyn Mikolasy's name.
E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com