Jayme Galloway, Ellis’ uncle, said she was a wonderful young lady who was loved by everyone.
“You are going to hear the word sweetheart a million times when you talk to people,” Galloway said. “She had a heart of gold. Anyone who met her had some sort of closure with her because every time you said goodbye to her you got a big hug and a giant smile.”
Although it hurts to lose two relatives, the family is doing well under the circumstances, Galloway said. The family was in a similar place three years ago when their father died, he added.
They came together, found a way to cope and laughed together as a family, and that’s what they’ll do now that Gabby has died, Galloway said.
Cody Joynes, Ellis’ boyfriend, said the past week has been rough for him, but spending time with Ellis’ family has help calm him.
Several grief counselors were at school helping students cope with their classmate’s death, Joynes said.
“Everybody who cared for her would go in and they would start crying altogether,” he said.
Gallowway said his family has been overwhelmed with support from people in the community. That support is symbolic of how much Ellis was loved and her ability to bring people together.
“Please keep us in your prayers and read stories about Gabby,” he said. “You will get to love her just like we did. If you are a parent, she will feel like a second daughter just like she felt with me. She was a beautiful person.”
UPDATE @ 7 p.m. (Dec. 14): VANDALIA – Students, faculty and staff at Morton Middle School are continuing to adjust in the aftermath of losing Gabrielle "Gabby" Ellis, Superintendent Brad Neavin, Vandalia Butler City Schools, said.
“With a student this age, all of her classmates are old enough to know what happened,” Neavin said, “but young enough that they don’t understand. Even at my age, I don’t understand.”
Funeral services for 12-year-old Gabrielle will be 4 p.m. Saturday at the First Baptist Church of Vandalia, 140 Elva Court, (across from Butler High School).
Visitation at the church, from 11:30 a.m. until 4 p.m., will precede the funeral. A private burial will be at Riverside Cemetery, in Troy.
Services for her grandmother, 69-year-old Lois Ellis, will begin Friday with visitation from 10 a.m. until noon at Newcomer Funeral Home, 4104 Needmore Road. The funeral will begin, at the funeral home, at noon. She, too, will be buried at Riverside Cemetery.
Both were killed in a crash in Miami County on Dec. 11, when Lois Ellis lost control of their van and collided with an oncoming minivan, according to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.
Related: Schools mourn death of 12-year-old in crash that killed grandmother
Gabby was a student at Morton Middle School in Vandalia. She had attended Troy schools for much of her life.
A GoFundMe page, set up in memory of Gabby, has raised more than $20,000.
Related: Community rallies around 7th grader killed in crash
— CASEY LAUGHTER