A service Sunday at Winona State University’s McCown Gymnasium brought some closure to the community as loved ones celebrated the life of Madeline Kingsbury.

The 26-year-old mother’s body was found earlier this month after she went missing from her home on March 31. The father of Kingsbury’s children, Adam Fravel, has been charged with her murder and faces up to 40 years in prison if convicted.

The search for Kingsbury kept porch lights on and blue ribbons hanging in hope for months. On Sunday, her name lined a full parking lot, and from those cars, a sea of blue emerged.

“Think about it, I mean, it’s all over our town. I mean, everywhere you go, it’s blue,” said Lizzie Hershberger, who’s from Mabel, Minnesota, the town near where a deputy found Kingsbury’s remains.

People carried flowers as torches to remember Kingsbury, whose disappearance and death managed to bring a community together.

Read KSTP’s full Madeline Kingsbury coverage

Those close to Kingsbury remembered her as a bright young woman with a promising future.

She was a clinical researcher at the Mayo Clinic, and she had just started grad school, all while being a mother to a 2-year-old son and a 5-year-old daughter.

“To lean on kind of a popular turn of phrase, you would say the sky was the limit, but the sky was truly her limit,” said Steven Kingsbury, Maddi’s brother.

Her older siblings remembered her as a lively, positive force who will always be cherished among her family and in her community.

“Over these past months, myself and my family have met countless individuals and groups who can attest to the joy that she put out into the world. She deserved reciprocation 10 times over,” Steven Kingsbury said.

“Madeline, we will forever hold you close in our minds and our hearts,” said Megan Kingsbury, Maddi’s sister. “You’ll never be forgotten, and your story will never go untold. We love you very much.”

As the memorial service wrapped up, the real celebration of Maddi’s life began, with a private concert of local musicians for her closest friends and family.