PHOTO BY RUTH FRY/The Luminary Dionna Sattespm, a junior at Montgomery Area High School was killed March 2 in a tragic automobile accident. She will always be remembered for her love of basketball and her beautiful smile.

On the evening of Monday, March 2, 2015, the Montgomery Area School District and surrounding communities lost a beloved family member and friend. Dionna Satteson, a junior in our high school as well as a cherished daughter, granddaughter, friend, and teammate, was killed in a tragic automobile accident.

I debated about the content of this week’s column and realized that posting events and discussing trivial activities would not do justice to the truth of our tri town community’s happenings over these past several days. From hanging ribbons to an on-line money campaign, video slideshows, posters, tears, fond memories, and hugs, the majority of our town has been affected and has contributed to supporting each other and Dionna’s family.

I will do my best to speak on behalf of our school community. I will not pretend to know or comment on anything beyond what I have experienced first hand. Dionna was loved by everyone. Whether her closest friends, a junior high student that she held a door for, or an elementary student who idolized her from the sidelines of the basketball court, Dionna touched many lives. Her teachers remember her for her quiet strength and leadership. She was never selfish and often served as the leader and peacemaker among friends and athletic teams. Perhaps most memorable is her smile. Whether flashed to a long time friend or a stranger, Dionna’s face radiated with each and every smile.

Services were held on Saturday at the Montgomery Athletic Complex. This location served to accommodate the hundreds of guests as well as honoring Dionna in her second home, her basketball home. The burial service was held at Elimsport Cemetery.

Amongst hundreds of photographs and quotes in a tribute video shown at the service was a piece of Dionna’s writing from her tenth grade English class. The assignment was a letter that students had to write to either their younger self or their future self. Dionna chose her younger self. I close with an excerpt from her own letter.”The most important thing I can tell you is to live without fear. Everything happens for a reason, so just have fun. Don’t live your life worrying about things you know you can’t change because worrying causes unneeded stress. Don’t worry about anyone but yourself. Learn to forgive, but never forget.”

She will be dearly missed, never forgotten.