Alice Donovan funeral | Mother missing no more

[Delilah]

By Adva Saldinger - [e-mail]


On the seventh anniversary of her abduction and murder, Alice Donovan was finally laid to rest in a ceremony that memorialized her as a loving mother, a lover of music and a strong woman.

The funeral gave the Galivants Ferry woman's family and friends closure after a years-long struggle to find her after she was taken from a Wal-Mart parking lot in Conway in 2002.

"I'm glad that we were able to lay her to rest finally," said her daughter Angie Gilchrist. "I'm looking forward to starting a new beginning in life, a new beginning with peace."

Alice Donovan's daughters light a candle at Hillcrest Cemetery in Conway on Saturday. On this date in 2002, Donovan was kidnapped and killed by a pair of prison escapees. Her daughters are Jennifer Warner (left) and Angie Gilchrist. Participating in the candle lighting are Monica Caison (second from left) of the CUE Center for Missing Persons and FBI agent Jeff Bruning. As the service continued, a television on the right showed photographs of Donovan. Donovan's remains were discovered earlier this year off a dirt road near S.C. 90. Her family, friends and well wishers gathered at the cemetery near Conway for the memorial service and interment of her ashes.

Angie Warner Gilchrist won't forget that her mother, Alice Donovan, was raped and murdered and left in the woods seven years ago Saturday.

She won't forget that it took almost that long to find and identify her mother's remains.

She won't forget that she, her stepfather and sister were awash in panic when Donovan didn't show up at home or work after a day of shopping, or that they began a frantic search before law enforcement officials stepped in.

A funeral service has been held for a South Carolina woman seven years to the day after she was abducted from a shopping center parking lot.


In an emotional eulogy, she remembered her mother as a woman with a passion for life who found beauty in everything.

"She had a laugh that could tickle your soul; she had an embrace that always made you feel safe; she had a beauty that radiated from the inside out; she was a woman with integrity," Gilchrist said.

She talked about her mother's ability to use a simple gesture to change a situation and spoke of her leading the family through the living room in a conga line to reassure her when she doubted herself.

"She...always kept me safe, kept me hidden away from the darkness of evil that lurks in the shadows of life," Gilchrist said. "She had a way of making places magical."

Jennifer Warner, Donovan's younger daughter, also spoke of the jokes they shared and of her mother's support as she grew up.

"My mother lives on beneath everything I do," she said. "Her presence influenced who I was and her absence influences who I am. Mommy, you'll forever be in my heart and soul, I love you with every fiber of my being."

Warner talked about the difficulty of the past seven years and wondering if a person can ever get over losing someone they love.

"The only answer that comes to mind is 'no.' But you learn to be grateful that you had the person at all even though it wasn't long enough."

Judy Ezel, one of Donovan's sisters, remembered all the moments they shared at holidays and with the births of their children.

"Alice gave us a whole lot in her short life," she said. "She had a quiet dignity and strength and that allowed her to be an overcomer. ... She was filled with love and the expression of it."

She called Donovan a best friend and urged people to make it a day not just of mourning but also of celebration.

"Funerals are usually sad, and while this is sad, it is heartbreaking and we miss her, but for us it's joyous because the miracle that happened with even finding her again," Ezel said.

She said finding Donovan and bringing her back physically has allowed the family to express emotions that they couldn't for the years she was missing.

"Today we have a new beginning too because now she's back," Ezel said. "Seven years of grief is gone; the first day of her presence is here. We've awaited this day and we're blessed because not all families get to be rejoined to their lost loved ones."

Ezel also thanked everyone who helped search for Donovan and those who helped bring her killers to justice.

One of those people, FBI agent Jeff Bruning, also spoke at the funeral. Over the past seven years, he said, he feels he got to know Donovan - though he never met her.

"We're here today because seven years ago an act of evil took place," Bruning said, "Since that time ... I've seen the best of what man is capable of."

He said it has been an honor to be part of the family's journey and to finally be able to bring Alice home.

"The seven-year journey to bring Alice home is finally here, to see her final send off is simply an honor," Bruning said.

Monica Caison, founder of Community United Effort, which was involved in the search, led those attending the funeral in the release of white balloons in memory of missing people.

She received a letter from one of the men convicted in Donovan's murder that led searchers to her remains in January. The remains were identified at the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification in July.

For some involved in the search, like Christy Judah, the Chief of Brunswick Search and Rescue, Alice's abduction hit home because she was taken while doing a daily task.

"You try not to become personally involved with the missing person," Judah said, but in this case with such a long and intense search that was impossible. "She was an innocent victim. Everyone should be able to feel safe in the middle of an afternoon in a Wal-Mart parking lot."

Judah, who at one point in the search moved all the furniture in her living room to lay out maps of Brunswick County, said the case has stuck with her.

"She was never forgotten. She'll never be forgotten," she said. "It's heartwarming to know that she is going to be laid to rest. Our hearts will definitely be there."

Judah said she was at the trial of Brandon Basham and Chadrick Fulks, the Kentucky prison escapees who killed Donovan and hopes justice will be served soon. Basham and Fulks are on death row at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind. No execution date has been set for either of them.

But thoughts of Basham and Fulks were not part of the ceremony on Saturday. The focus was squarely on the woman who smiled in the photo slideshow that played in the chapel and on finding peace, symbolized by two white doves released at the end of the service.
Contact ADVA SALDINGER at 626-0317.

[Delilah]

http://media.thesunnews.com/smedia/2009/11/14/19/aliceWEBjbm01.standalone.prod_affiliate.78.JPG" target="_blank">SLIDESHOW

At the link is a slide show of the beautiful ceremony.

[Maureen]

Crying. I just feel peace has been found for Alice's family but that didn't happen until yesterday.

[Maureen]

Delilah thanks for that link...that photo of Angie and Jenn said it all....beautiful photo.

[Delilah]

I think the girls are gonna be ok now.

[Findmywayhome]

Rest in peace Alice you have taught us so much. Somethings we wish you did not have to teach us. Rest in peace but never to be forgotten! Your life will now stand as a strong message about the missing and will be part of the voice of change! We will always love you! Always remember you!

[Maureen]

That's the photo Delilah! Beautiful! That picture just says that Peace has settled on the family.

[Lourdes Pagan]

Thanks for sharing. May the family be bless with peace now. I continue to pray for all those who are still waiting. Blessings to all of you

[Sheila Joyce Gibbs]

My prayers are on the way to our Saviour, who provides peace that passeth ALL understanding, strength & compassion beyond compare...
Blessings to you Angie & Jennifer.

[Jan Smolinski]

Peace and prayers to the family. Alice rest in peace.

[Sara/Peace4 Co-Founder]

What a beautiful article, so blessed by just reading this...much more so by having been personally touched by Alice through her amazing girls...love you Angie and Jen...xoxoxoxo