WEBER COUNTY, Utah -- Sunday would have been Kelsey Capeners 14th birthday, and friends and family gathered to honor and remember the teen and the influence she had on others.
The girl from Weber County died in a boating accident at Bear Lake in June, along with her sister, Kylie, her father, Lance, and a family friend, Sierra Hadley.
As friends and family members grieve their loss, they are honoring Kelsey's birthday by spreading random acts of kindness.
Supporters gathered at the Evergreen Memorial Park in Ogden Sunday to remember Kelsey, to share stories about her life, and to share stories about how her example still impacts others.
“She was a remarkable girl,” said Leisa Stockdale, Kelsey’s aunt.
As the Capener family copes with the unimaginable loss of three family members, they are heartened by the outpouring of support from their community. Kelsey's home has been decorated for her birthday, anda Facebook page called Spread Kelsey’s Kindness has inspired acts of kindness and charity in Kelsey's honor.
“That’s the kind of thing Kelsey would do,” Stockdale said. “These are things I didn’t know about Kelsey, and things I’ve learned about her since she's been gone. She just, she loved serving other people. She realized that she had a good life.”
Stockdale added: "She'd save her money and give donations to food banks. She'd hold bake sales and try to buy toys for Primary Children's Hospital."
Loved ones said she led a good life and set a good example, an example that spread far and wide.
Stockdale said: “As we’ve looked through the messages that have been posted, sometimes my sister and I will look at each other and go, ‘Do you know these people?’ ‘No, I don’t know these people either.’”
For more information on the effort to spread kindness in honor of Kelsey, click here. About 100 kids are expected to wear T-shirts honoring Kelsey to school Monday, and the shirts bear the message: "Struggling with the Jr. high school experience? Spread kindness."
Stockdale said that's a message that suits Kelsey's memory.
"She'd just say they're struggling with the Jr. high experience, and then shed find a way to go be kind to them and help them, so this is something that a lot of kids will be wearing at her Jr. high school tomorrow," Stockdale said.
