Mourners remember Skyler Kauffman's vibrant life

Dressed in black, and struggling to make peace with the fact that a child had been taken from their midst "far too soon," mourners gathered Monday to say farewell to Skyler Kauffman.

The 9-year-old Souderton girl was remembered as a bright spirit with a dazzling smile during midday funeral services at Calvary Church in Hilltown, Bucks County.

The third grader at E.M. Crouthamel Elementary School was sexually assaulted and killed a week ago Monday in her apartment complex. James Lee Troutman, a 24-year-old neighbor, has been charged in her death.

"This community, this family, has been fractured in a way that time cannot heal," said the Rev. Jason Blair, pastor of Grace Bible Church, a neighboring cleric who officiated at the funeral. "But I refuse to let evil prevail."

Blair, whose son, Josiah, was Skyler's classmate and telephone buddy, held back tears as he pressed the 700 in attendance to focus on how the little girl lived, not how she died.

"There are no answers, there is no one experienced enough to know why," Blair said. He urged his listeners to look to their faith to "bring good out of this terrible thing."

An hour before services were to begin, friends, family, and neighbors of the little girl came in a steady stream to the nondenominational church. Pastor Jay Desko said Calvary was chosen because it has a big auditorium.

The service was a collaboration among various churches from the community, Desko said. The Kauffman family does not attend Calvary.

"We're thankful that all of us can play a small part in trying to help a family grieve," Desko said. "We're trying to give them a sacred moment."

Though Skyler's mother, Heather Gebhard, and father, Eric Kauffman, chose not to speak at the service, her aunt and school officials said the little girl excelled at writing, dancing, and playing the recorder.

Skyler loved wearing bright colors, swinging on the playground swings, and writing in her journal during classroom "free writing time," the officials said.

The audience included schoolchildren who were excused from classes to attend. Crouthamel principal Jonathan R. Graf read letters written to Skyler by her classmates in the week after her death.

"You were really sweet. You had good handwriting. Your animal poster was perfect," wrote one, referring to a poster Skyler made about cheetahs.

At 12:30 p.m., as the mourners emerged from the church to form a procession to Keller's Church Cemetery in Perkasie, rain began falling in earnest.

Skyler's casket, an adult-size lavender coffin covered with pink and purple flowers, was loaded into a black hearse. The larger coffin was needed to hold the little girl's favorite possessions, a funeral director said.

Skyler wrote a poem three weeks ago that showed her spiritual side, according to her teacher. The poem was titled "When You Look Up."

"When you look up, I am there," the poem went. "When you look up, you will see blue. When you look up, you will see God."