𝑎 𝑏𝑎𝑑 𝑔𝑖𝑟𝑙 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑠.

17

"my daughter, olivia marie jackson, was taken away from this earth. i will never question god and his decisions, but i will also never understand how you could take away something so beautiful and pure. she will leave a huge impact on my husband and i, and i'm sure that's the same for a lot of people here.

derek and i were planning a trip for olivia to italy after she graduated high school. it was her dream destination, and now she will never get to go. i will never see her get her diploma, or walk down the isle, or have grandchildren.

and even though she will never live these things out personally, she lives them out through us. i know she is here, somewhere in this building, watching us all grieve and mourn. olivia, i would like to say personally that your father and i are so...we are so, so sorry. i promised you, from the day you were born, that i will always be there. i broke that. and now, i've lost you forever.

my daughter was greatly loved. i know that, because i was apart of it. like every mother and daughter, we had our ups and downs. but she was still my daughter through it all, a bright shine of light that lifted everyone up whenever she walked into a room.

i used to wish she would never grow up when she was younger. that olivia would stay that innocent little thing of hope. now, all i do is wish she had the ability to grow old again. have kids of her own and a husband who loves her.

but i know olivia wouldn't want us to mourn her, either. she would want us to celebrate the life she had instead of the life she was supposed to live. so, i deeply thank everyone for coming and supporting us. and, to olivia, i love you. forever and always."