With an urn surrounded by brightly colored flowers, friends and family quietly said a private goodbye. Photos of Pilkington with those she loved most were on display on the wall of the funeral home’s garage in a makeshift shrine to her memory. As a cold breeze blew and Canada geese called in the distance, family and friends expressed their sorrow and shared their memories of Pilkington, whom they all described as funny, intelligent, athletic and feisty.

 

Quick witted and sassy, friends recalled her lust for life, her infectious smile and sparkling eyes. “She just wanted to make everyone laugh and that’s what she did,” said her brother Jared, who admitted, like typical brothers and sisters, it wasn’t until late into Pilkington’s young life were they becoming close. Learning how quickly one’s life could end, he asked the crowd to express their love and gratitude to those around them.

 

The heavy and somber cloud that hung over the memorial was peppered with smiles and laughter as speakers shared their favorite stories of the mischievous Pilkington. Whether it was chasing after the ice cream truck, spraying unsuspecting strangers with water guns or laughing at those who stepped in Canada geese droppings, friends and family said Pilkington could always be found making those around her smile.

 

A West Islip High School soccer star, Pilkington was getting ready to attend Dowling College where she would again hit the field. Her teammates called her an inspiration and someone they strived to be. “I know she is always with me and running down the field beside me,” said her long-time friend and teammate, Nicole.

 

“Lexi was without a doubt a force to be reckoned with,” Kehati said of Pilkington’s athletic prowess during his sermon.

 

After his wife, Paula, who was nearly overcome with emotion, shared a poem she wrote for her daughter, Pilkington’s father, Tom, expressed his love for the girls Pilkington had spent so much time with on the field. “You’re all our kids,” he told them and encouraged all her friends to contact the family at any time to express their grief or to remember the good times that they had.

 

“There’s a hole in my heart that will never be healed,” he said, adding that through the support of family and Pilkington’s friends, the family has been getting by.

 

The unexpected and mysterious nature of her death was not ignored at the memorial, but friends and family urged one another not to blame themselves. “None of us are at fault and none of us should be haunted by the words, ‘If only,’” said Kehati.

 

“We knew she was sick,” said her uncle, Brendan, who shared a candid memory of he and Pilkington dancing at his wedding only 10 years earlier. “She was fighting an illness that we will never understand.”

 

While some friends expressed their sorrow that Pilkington would not know that sheer number of people that came to mourn her loss, others believed she did. “Everybody that came together in that past couple of days,” said James, a close friend and neighbor. “She sees it. She feels it.”