GALAX, Va. – A sizable crowd came together Sunday to remember a young mother found dead in her Hillsville home.
Dozens of people paid their respects to 30-year-old Lauren Bolen at her funeral and during a vigil in her memory at Felts Park in Galax.
“She was more than just my daughter,” said Bolen’s mother, Teresa Davis. “She was truly my best friend.”
Bolen’s husband, 36-year-old Marcus Bolen, has been arrested and charged with her murder.
The crowd that honored Lauren Bolen extended to the back row of the Felts Park grandstand. Loved ones remembered her as a joyful person and a devoted mother to her three daughters.
“She was bubbly, she made you laugh,” said Bolen’s friend Brandie Delp. “She never had a dull moment.”
“The most I’ll ever remember is that smile,” said Jeff Davis, Bolen’s stepfather. “She had the greatest smile in the world.”
Many mourners wore purple or carried purple balloons to remember domestic violence victims.
“If you’re in an abusive relationship, don’t be silent,” said Hailie Cushman, who had been friends with Bolen since kindergarten. “Tell someone. Reach out for help.”
Bolen’s parents hope she is remembered not for the way she died, but for the way she lived.
“If I could just be a quarter of the woman that my daughter was, that would make me so proud,” Teresa Davis said.