"So many of you knew how bright she shined," said Laura Welch, sobbing in mourning of her friend, 87-year-old Rita Barbush.

Gathered in the garden Barbush worked so hard to maintain, dozens of her family, friends and neighbors remembered the woman who became known in Poland as everyone's grandma.

"She loved the outdoors, she loved nature," said Barbush's sister Kathy Markovich, adding that Rita loved everyone right back.
She died Sunday night, hit by a car after being dropped off at her home along busy Route 224.
Her beloved garden now a memorial .

"It just makes me feel so overwhelmed with pride for her," said Markovich. "It makes me feel so good to know she was appreciated."

Welch's appreciation showed through her tears.
She and Rita became fast friends after she offered to help keep the garden beautiful.

"And I will learn to dance in the rain...and I will save the bees and I will stop and talk to strangers," Welch told the mourners. "And I really encourage you all do to that in her memory."

And as the Prayer of St. Francis promises that 'it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we're born to eternal life', not only will Rita Barbush's spirit live on, but those who came to Wednesday's vigil will make sure her garden will too.