Good-bye to Karissa

Outside, reporters and two-dozen mourners who could not fit inside the building crowded around a speaker. Three young girls sobbed and hugged each other nearby.

Bubbly was 12-year-old Karrisa Boudreau’s happy song, said Reverend Perry Ingersoll.

The tune is one that most girls her age dance to, not one that is played at their funeral.

Ingersoll remembers Karissa and her mother Penny always sat close to the front of the church for Sunday services.

“Karissa was described as an all-round girl, enjoying those things that all little girls enjoy, like the pretty clothes, especially paint and she had a deep love for both stuffed animals and live animals,” said Ingersoll.

“In fact at this very early age, Karissa had in her mind the hopes of someday becoming a veterinarian. Several have described her as having a winning smile, with an intense desire to help others who were younger and less mature,” he said.

During the service several poems were read by family members including this one:

Karissa, where were you wandering, we’ve all been pondering.

My little girl lost, at such a high cost.

We’ll never stop loving you; our love will keep you warm.

You can no longer come to harm. You will be in our hearts forever.

Sleep tight my sweet angel, until we meet again.

I love you.”

Twelve-year-old Karissa Boudreau went missing in Bridgewater on Jan. 27. Her remains were found on the banks of the Lahave River on Feb. 9. The case remains under investigation.