KAYSVILLE, Utah - Funeral services for the Kaysville girl accidentally shot and killed in her home were held Saturday morning. 12-yea-rold Adelaide Clinger died last Sunday, and almost a week later, friends, family and total strangers packed into an LDS stake center to pay respects.
Those attending Addy's funeral say the spunky 12-year-old impacted many in her short life.
"She was always willing to bring a smile to everybody,” said 14-year-old Tori Valentine.
Valentine remembers a time when she was the new girl in the area and Addy Clinger made her feel at home.
"She always had an uplifting spirit and she was willing to be friends with anybody and she was always so welcoming with people,” Valentine said.
Ashton Fry, a close friend of Addy's older sister, says she's spent countless hours at the Clingers' home with the four daughters, and with Addy, there was never a dull moment.
“I would come in and she would give you sass first and then say I really like your shoes. So it was just, like, 'Okay I like you, I really like you,'" said Fry.
“I feel like the whole community is trying to have sympathy, cause I don’t know if many can have empathy, but we are all trying to be there for them and make sure they know we love them and want to be there for them,” said Fry.
But Joanne Allen, a total stranger to the Clinger family, may have been one of the only people at the funeral who knows the pain that comes from such a tragedy.
"We felt the story," Allen said.
Allen's son was also accidentally shot on the same day - 30 years ago.
“The coincidence was almost more than you could understand. He said he was absolutely sure that they had cleaned those .22 rifles, Mike was killed with a .22 shell,” Allen said.
Allen drove up from Orem to attend Addy's funeral, she felt a strong urge to support a family she doesn't know but relates to.
“It doesn't ever pass you just deal with it. Everyone needs to surround them and love them and support them,” Allen said.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Addy Clinger Memorial Fund at http://www.giveforward.com or to the Addy Clinger Benefit Fund at any Wells Fargo Bank (account 7740381012).
