Kelly could bring a smile to our faces even during the toughest of days.”

The Rev. David Thurber, Jr., pastor at St. Barnabus Church.

PORTSMOUTH — Kindness, humor, and love. 

These were the themes shared during Friday night’s remembrance of Kelly Nevitt, the 15-year-old Portsmouth High School student who passed away June 7 after a stairwell collapsed during a private graduation ceremony.

“Kelly could bring a smile to our faces even during the toughest of days,” said The Rev. David Thurber, Jr., pastor at St. Barnabus Church. “Kelly had a heart of gold.”

The church’s“Night of Remembrance” was mainly for friends and classmates to talk about Kelly. Students received preferential seating in the main church, while parents and other adults were asked to sit in the back or downstairs where overflow seating was available. 

Before speaking, mourners came to the altar and placed dozens of carnations on the front step, as “Summertime Sadness,” a song described by Thurber as meaningful to Kelly, played on.

Numerous friends of Kelly celebrated her life during the vigil. Some did it through poetry, where they remembered her sense of humor and love for those around them. Others did it through song, singing “My Kind of Woman,” by Mac DeMarco.

Some had known her since they were toddlers, while others only just met her. However, everyone who came in contact with Kelly said their lives were better since she was in it.

Many talked about their late-night phone calls and how Kelly was always there to lend an ear to her friends. Many described her as more than a friend, but family. The reminiscent about their moments together in musical theater, one of Kelly’s great passions, or on the PHS color guard, of which she was a member. One friend, who had lost her passion for theater, said Kelly inspired her to give it another go.

“Kelly had this way of making people feel like they mattered, whether it was a smile in the hallway, a joke that made you laugh, even on the worst days, or just being there when you needed someone,” a lifelong friend said. “Her kindness was real, her heart was big.”

Another friend quoted “Hamilton,” which was Nevitt’s favorite play: “You have no control over who lives or who dies.” 

He added that everyone there has a choice to continue to tell her story. “Kelly graced my life early in middle school and forever changed my perspective on what true friendship looks like,” he said.

‘Unapologetically her’

As time went on, a line of students appeared at the altar, which was full of people touched by Kelly’s genuine personality. One more friend summarized it like this:

“When I look out here, I see a bunch of faces who knew Kelly for who she was, because that was just her. She was unapologetically her, and she never pretended to be someone she wasn’t.”