FRANKLIN, Pa. -- Jody Billingsley, of Mt. Lebanon, was laid to rest Wednesday in her quiet northwestern Pennsylvania hometown, nearly 90 miles away from the LA Fitness where a gunman killed her and two other women last week.
The funeral at the First United Methodist Church in Franklin, Venango County -- where the 37-year-old Billingsley grew up and went to school -- was the third and final service for those who died in the shooting rampage in Collier Township, Allegheny County.
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Jody Billingsley's Funeral Your Condolences: Learn More About The Deceased And The Survivors"It's just such a tragedy. Jody was such a good person, beautiful smile," said Darlene Whitman, a friend from church.
Billingsley was a sales representative for Medtronic Inc. who played basketball at the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown while studying biology. She later earned a degree in physical therapy from Chatham University.
"Jody was a person that, if you didn't talk to her all the time, you felt like you picked up where you left off," college roommate Toddy Reese said. "She made us all better people because of the way she was."
Funerals were held over the weekend for the other two women who died -- 49-year-old Elizabeth "Betsy" Gannon, of Green Tree, and 46-year-old Heidi Overmier, of Carnegie.
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Watch The Funeral Reports By Bob Mayo and Tara EdwardsAllegheny County police said George Sodini, 48, of Scott Township, sprayed an aerobics dance classroom at the health club in the Great Southern Shopping Center with two handguns before taking his own life with a third gun in
a long-planned mission.
Gannon Remembered As Upbeat, Very Friendly
Gannon was divorced and didn't have children. She worked as an X-ray technician at a Pittsburgh hospital but was remembered more for spending her spare time as a surrogate Aunt Bea to her nieces and nephews, for her daily walks with her Labrador retriever and for the pride she took in her Irish heritage.
More than 100 people mourned Gannon at her funeral Mass, saying prayers and sharing stories at St. Margaret of Scotland in Green Tree.
"It was moving, it was touching and uplifting in a beautiful way. It was such a tragic death. The church was just full," said Betty Kilmeyer, who sang in the choir. "You can feel the pain but you can rise above it. I know that the ending will be glorious, that's what keeps you going."
Gannon's goddaughter sang a song in tribute, and other loved ones described how wonderful she was to them, saying that's what they will miss the most.
"She was a very upbeat person, very friendly," Kilmeyer said. "(She) walked her dog in the area (and) many people knew her just from walking her dog where she lived."
Former Allegheny County Chief Executive Jim Roddey called the killings a "senseless" act and remembered Gannon's contributions to the community.
"She was really a wonderful person in this community. I never saw her when she wasn't smiling," said Roddey, who also knew Gannon through her volunteer work for the Allegheny County Republican Committee.
"Betsy was a beautiful, warm ray of sunshine to everyone she ever met," said Linda O'Brian, a childhood classmate and lifelong friend.
Overmier's Legacy As Devoted Mom Shared
Overmier's was remembered as a hard-working, devoted single mother by well over 200 people who crowded the First United Methodist Church of Bridgeville for her funeral Mass.
Overmier was "a devout Christian woman who left loving imprints on our hearts," whose life was "suddenly ended in a senseless act of violence, and each one of us have felt the pain and sadness of her departure," said the Rev. Josephine Whitely-Fields.
"Heidi, she was a blessing. She was soft-spoken, she was creative, she was humorous, she was a joy to be around. She epitomized the spirit of Christian love," said the Rev. Ed Saxman.
Overmier was a single mother who doted on her 15-year-old son, Ian, and was perhaps best known at her church for annually writing and directing a Christmas play for children, complete with costumes she made.
"(She was) always positive, a go-getter (with a) can-do attitude. Just an amazing woman and completely dedicated to her son," said Marianne Haffey, a friend. "I still can't believe we've lost two absolutely beautiful human beings -- beautiful both on the outside and on the inside."
Larry Russ, chief of security at Kennywood Park, where Overmier worked in group sales, said Overmier "had that innate ability to make everybody love her."
"Right now, I'm at a loss for words," Russ said. "There's a lot people want to say, but nothing is going to come out the way it should."
"She was tremendous," said Overmier's neighbor, Anna Marie Mauti. "If she knew I wasn't well, she'd come and ask if I needed anything. She'd send her son over."
Friends said Overmier was planning to soon join in her church's faith outreach, an effort her former pastor said would touch lives, like those of her killer.
"We have been called to seek out, really, the George Sodinis of this world, the lost people who don't have that relationship, don't have that relationship, don't realize where God is in their life and help them to understand it," Saxman said.
"The people that you care about, to tell them that you do care -- even if it's just a good friend, a co-worker. Please, just tell them that that you do care because you don't know when you might not be able to do that," Haffey said.
All week, Pittsburghers have come together to mourn the three women who were killed, leaving flowers, notes and stuffed animals outside the doors of the now-closed gym in the Great Southern Shopping Center.
George Sodini's Family Praying For Victims, Families, Survivors
Sodini's family offered the following statement through attorney Rebecca Bower: "The family is devastated by these incidents. We pray for the victims and their families and we pray for the full recovery of the survivors."
Sodini's family did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
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