JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Lauren Paige Dufresne's friends remember her as brilliant, talented, hard-working, and full of life.
The former Bishop Kenny High School volleyball star died last Thursday while vacationing in Mexico. The local paper "Diario Respuesta" reports Dufresne was standing on her hotel patio, when a concrete beam fell and crushed her. She died the day after her 25th birthday, leaving friends and family in shock.
"You don't know how to react," said Brittany Eppley, a friend and former high school teammate. "It's like you can't believe it because it feels like just yesterday she was here with us playing volleyball, and we were out there on that court."
Tuesday night, her former coaches and teammates gathered at the Bishop Kenny gym to look at pictures of their friend, and remember the time they had together.
"I think bringing all those memories back and laughing about them is really the only thing we can do," said Caitlin Smith.
"It's a blessing that I knew her, and that I can try to live like she did everyday," added Ali Senden.
Suzanne Winkler, her former head coach, said Dufrense will serve as a role model for many years to come.
"If you could live how "Duf" lived, it was full of life, and that's the one thing I will always remember."
Dufresne graduated from Bishop Kenny in 2006 and attended the University of Florida. She was employed in the financial industry in Jacksonville.
The tragedy comes 14 years after the Dufrene family suffered another loss, when Lauren's baby sister was killed in another tragic accident.
A visitation will be held Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home of Mandarin.
