By RachelL Nostrant
Just last Sunday, Rubi Patricia Vergara was at a craft fair with her family to support her best friend, who was selling handmade necklaces and keychains. Rubi, who loved arts and crafts, bought the most expensive item, and then skipped around the fair with her friend, Josie Hughes. At the end of the day, the two girls hugged goodbye, saying they would see each other soon.
The next day, Rubi’s life was cut short. A shooter attacked her school, Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, on Monday, and Rubi, a 14-year-old freshman, and a staff member were killed at the scene, while six others were wounded. The shooter, a 15-year-old student, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to authorities.
On Saturday, family and friends gathered for a memorial service for Rubi at her family’s church. Speakers at the service remembered her as a kind, music-loving teenager with a strong faith in God.
“Rubi was, in every sense, a gift to everyone who had the privilege of knowing her,” said Abbey Staum, Josie’s mother. “She had an incredible ability to bring joy, humor and thoughtfulness to the people she cared for.”
The shooting took place on the last full week of classes before the holiday break. Emergency responders arrived within minutes of receiving a call from a second-grade teacher inside the school. Officials identified Natalie Rupnow, who went by Samantha, as the shooter, and they said she used a handgun in the attack. Investigators are still looking for a clear motive.
Also killed in the attack was Erin M. West, 42, a staff member who lived in DeForest, Wisconsin. West had taught at Abundant Life for four years and was listed in the school directory as the coordinator for substitute teachers.
During Saturday’s memorial for Rubi, attendees cried, clapped and laughed while speakers addressed them from a stage adorned with Christmas decorations and a Nativity scene. Sharing heartfelt memories between singing Christian ballads, they lamented the attack while celebrating Rubi’s life and devotion to God.
Rubi “had a faith beyond her years,” said Tom Flaherty, lead pastor of the congregation, City Church in Madison. “Though Rubi has passed, her faith is still speaking to us,” he later added.
Speaking on behalf of the family, Andy Remus, Rubi’s uncle, said the family was mourning through laughter and joy. That is how her life should be celebrated, he said.
Dawn Moris, a family friend, and other speakers emphasized Rubi’s skills and interest in music. Rubi played the keyboard for the church’s family band, “sang like an angel” and had a smile to match, Moris said. She also recalled the time Rubi went to her first concert, “even though Rubi never liked loud noises,” during which a band member high-fived her as she watched from her father’s shoulders.
“It has been a true honor and a treasure,” Moris said. “I will never forget playing worship songs in the family band with Rubi.”
Rubi also loved cats, deep-dish pizza and books, especially Christian fantasy fiction, according to Flaherty. She was born in March 2010 and is survived in her immediate family by her parents, Vicente and Jennifer Vergara, and her younger brother, Adrian.
Her uncle added that the family holds no bitterness against the shooter or her family. “They lost a daughter too,” Remus said.
Among Rubi’s traits, perhaps the most highlighted Saturday, were her kindness and empathy. Moris spoke about how Rubi used to make origami and crocheted figurines of people she loved as gifts.
Fighting back tears, Staum recalled how her daughter and Rubi became friends.
The girls met 10 years ago at a camp, where Josie initially struggled with anxiety and refused to let her parents leave without her, Staum said. Josie’s parents tried every distraction they could think of to get her acclimated, but nothing worked — until Rubi approached her asking, “Do you want to play with me?” The girls were best friends from that day on.
“Rubi’s life, though brief, was a gift to us,” Staum said, adding, “Her story is unfinished because her love and light continue to ripple through everyone who knew her.”
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