Eight months after her untimely death, the family of Gracie Muehlberger remembers her as a “vibrant, lively girl” who could light up a room with her smile.

15-year-old Gracie Anne Muehlberger is remembered as a bubbly, friendly girl with a personality as sweet as her favorite frappuccinos before her life was tragically cut short in the Saugus School Shooting.

With an infectious laugh and bright outlook on the world, Gracie embodied joy in their family, always ready with a joke or a smile, according to her parents.

“She was a very funny little girl, always in front of a camera with her iPhone or iPod Touch in her hand for as long as she had them,” said Bryan Muehlberger, Gracie’s father.

A picture of a young Gracie Muehlberger.

Gracie’s parents described a young girl who enjoyed life and looked for the fun in everything, but was also “very loving” and “very inclusive” when it came to supporting those around her, especially those who she felt needed it most. They recounted a time when Gracie discovered that an acquaintance may have been self-harming, and Gracie took it upon herself to reach out and invite the girl to her youth group at Real Life Church.

“Her laugh was just so contagious, that anybody that had ever met her, you could just never forget her laugh,” said her mother, Cindy.” She had a laugh that was so unique and it just brought anybody and everybody joy when she laughed.”

According to her parents, Gracie became no less boisterous as she grew older, but she did become self-conscious of her smile.

“She started learning to smile with her teeth hidden, and we hated it, because we’re like, ‘That’s not your smile,’” Bryan said. “But then we would get her laughing and we’re like ‘That’s your smile.’”

Gracie is remembered by her friends and family as a budding entrepreneur, always pursuing new businesses, from creating an online fashion magazine and modeling agency with her friends to hosting lemonade stands and going door-to-door to sell “slime.”

“She had a passion for life unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Cindy said. “(Going into high school) she’s like, ‘We have to make memories and experience this, this is what life is about, we’re young, let’s just have fun.’ She was a hoot.”

After her death, Gracie’s parents discovered several small, handwritten notes in a keepsake box they had bought on a family trip years before. On each, Gracie had written a goal. Upon reading her journal, they discovered a corresponding note to Gracie’s “future self” with advice upon attaining those goals.

To her “future high school student” self, Gracie wrote:

dear future self,

O.M.G. !!!!

It’s high school! I’ve been waiting for this day for…. FOREVER!!

Don’t be nervous. You will meet some of your life-long friends, and also some enemies. Don’t focus on negativity. You’ll get through this. Keep the people that make you happy, and lose the…. well, others, haha wear something cute, obviously.

I LOVE YOU!!

good luck.

She also wrote notes to herself as a new driver, as a high school graduate, and as a new college student.

“She was just wise beyond her years in that sense, not a lot of kids would write to their future selves,” Bryan said.

For her parents, these notes are a beautiful example of Gracie’s personality and what she dreamed of, as well as a sobering reminder of how those dreams of her future life had been stolen from her.

“She had four goals, and she had written notes to herself at each of the stages of those goals, she had a goal for getting into high school, she had a goal for driving, a goal for graduating and a goal for college,” Bryan said. “She made one of the four.”

On Nov. 14, 2019, Gracie was killed in the Saugus High School shooting, which also left two others dead, including the 16-year-old shooter.

See Related: Family Of Saugus High Shooting Victims Campaign To Dedicate Central Park In Children’s Honor

A little over a week after her death, Gracie’s life was celebrated by friends, family, and the community on Saturday, Nov. 23, at Real Life Church in Valencia.

During the service, Bryan shared a variety of his favorite memories with Gracie, from dancing with her to going on family vacations.

“She was able to make a larger impact on more people and more communities than most of us will do in a lifetime,” Bryan said at the time.

Many of Gracie’s friends also had the opportunity to share some of their thoughts and memories of the young woman, including her best friend Addison Koegle, who was also shot during the shooting at Saugus High School.

“I have never felt more pain, both physically and emotionally, here in my life.” Addison said.

Addison went on to describe Gracie as a vibrant, lively girl who always made others smile, and this description was echoed by all of her friends and family who came up to speak.

“Everybody knows that she will always be in our hearts,” said Gracie’s young cousin Stella. “I miss her very much, and I hope you will all remember her forever.”

Visit Gracie Strong Foundation and their mission to dedicate Central Park in honor of Gracie and Dominic, or visit dedicatecentralpark.com.

This is Part 1 in a series about the Muehlberger and Blackwell families and their lives in the wake of the 2019 Saugus Shooting, look for Part 2 in the coming weeks.

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