WINONA, Minn. 鈥� Friends and family of a Winona mother of two who was found dead after a monthslong search are still trying to reconcile their memories of a caring, smart woman and their anger over the way she was taken from them.
Hundreds of people on Sunday, June 25, attended a public memorial for Madeline Kingsbury, a 26-year-old Winona mother of two .
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. The father of Madeline鈥檚 two children, Adam Fravel, .
Madeline鈥檚 brother, Steven Kingsbury, spoke at the memorial about the emotions he and other family members are dealing with, ranging from joy of her memory, to rage, to being too overwhelmed to feel anything. He said he understands the anger people in the community are feeling.
鈥淚t鈥檚 important we don鈥檛 let those feelings overshadow what a gift she was to all who knew her,鈥� he told a crowd of more than 400 people gathered at the McCown Gymnasium on the Winona State University campus.
Kingsbury earned a degree in public health from Winona State in 2019 before she began studying for a master鈥檚 degree in the field from the University of Minnesota.
The memorial included prayers, hymns and songs, and was led by Rev. Laurie Natwick, a bishop at the Northwestern Minnesota Synod Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Kingsbury鈥檚 sister, Megan Kingsbury, said she tries to redirect her thoughts and feelings in a way Madeline would.
鈥淎lways go to gratitude,鈥� Megan said. 鈥淪he didn鈥檛 let a day go by without recognizing and appreciating what she had.鈥�
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It鈥檚 good advice, her friends said, but easier to say than do in the weeks since she was found.
Hallie Schoenberg said she hasn鈥檛 yet found a way to resolve her anger at the loss of her friend and former classmate.
鈥淚鈥檓 still trying to figure it out,鈥� she said.
Schoenberg met Madeline at WSU while the two were studying public health. They became fast friends and had stayed in touch in the years since college.
鈥淵ou were lucky if you got to know her,鈥� said Schoenberg. 鈥淪he was truly one of the kindest people I鈥檝e been lucky enough to know.鈥�
Later in their friendship, Madeline was pregnant with her son while Schoenberg was pregnant with her first child.
鈥淲e leaned on each other,鈥� she said.
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They kept in touch after Schoenberg moved to the Madison, Wisconsin, area. Schoenberg traveled from Wisconsin to attend the memorial. She had hoped her next trip back to Winona would be to get together with Madeline, she said.
The two last spoke about two weeks before Madeline went missing. They talked about their kids and about one of their favorite WSU professors, Andrea Rossin, whom the two kept in touch with in the years since they graduated.
Rossin was also at the memorial Sunday. The two women paused on the campus to catch up and reminisce about Madeline. Rossin said she was glad to keep in touch with Madeline, describing her as kind and generous.
鈥淪he was brilliant in every single way,鈥� Rossin said. 鈥淣ot just intellectually.鈥�
After the ceremony, area musicians played an impromptu show for people attending the memorial using a limited sound system and small stage in the gym. Family members said Madeline enjoyed music.
Tom Hipps, of Minneapolis, formerly of Winona, was in town to play a show Saturday and volunteered to perform Leonard Cohen鈥檚 鈥淗allelujah,鈥� joined by Ruby Nordby on piano.
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