Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009

Funeral for SC woman 7 years after disappearance

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Seven years to the day after she disappeared from a parking lot, a funeral was held for a South Carolina woman remembered by her daughter as a woman with a passion for life who found beauty in everything.

The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reports that the funeral for Alice Donovan was held on Saturday.

"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."

In an emotional eulogy, she said her mother "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."

Donovan disappeared in November 2002 while shopping at a Walmart in Conway. Her remains were found in January, but they were not identified until July.

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."

FBI agent Jeff Bruning also spoke, saying 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 sendoff is simply an honor," Bruning said.

Even before her body was found, two men were convicted of kidnapping and killing the 44-year-old mother of two and sentenced to death. The men also pleaded guilty to killing a 19-year-old student in West Virginia after escaping from a Kentucky jail.