Rehbein died on May 20 from injuries sustained in a Sleepy Eye house fire on May 8. She was 29 years old. Though she was lost at a young age, Rehbein left a lasting impact on the lives of her family and friends.

Katie Rehbein’s best friend Paige Burkel listed off over two decades’ worth of memories the two had together. The two have been friends since they were 7 years old. The two spent their early years bicycling around Gibbon.

“Katie was very adventurous,” Burkel said. “She loved to go for walks late at night. She would say to me, ‘Let’s go on an adventure,’ It could be 3 a.m., it didn’t matter.”

Burkel said she always felt safe with Rehbein around and she was always pushing her to do more.

friends and family share their memories with Katie Rehbein during a memorial service Friday.

“She made me more outgoing. I want to be more like her,” she said.

“She had the purest heart and soul I’ve ever seen,” said friend Jason DeGrauwe. “She was kind to everyone beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

DeGrauwe remembers when he first met Katie Rehbein, she came up to him and said ‘We will be friends for life.’

“And we are,” he said.

Burkel and DeGrauwe said Rehbein had a reputation as a peacekeeper. They said if an argument happened, Rehbein would defuse the situation by making it funny.

Burkel remembered Rehbein liked to fix up every kid’s hair.

“If she were here now, there would not be a single little girl in sight without a braid,” Burkel said.

Many of the children attending the memorial and some of the adults were wearing little fairy crowns, and some also wore fairy wings.

Monica Rehbein, Katie’s sister-in-law, said Katie had planned to have a fairy-themed wedding. The family felt it was the best way to honor her. The balloons released were also chosen because Katie Rehbein’s favorite color scheme was tie-dye.

“Katie marched to the beat of her own drum,” her mother Mindi Rehbein said.

The idea to release the balloons came from friend Jacob Sward.

“[Katie] always told me when I was going through a bad time that everything is going to be all right,” Sward said. “So I know everything is going to be alright now.”

A common memory from all attending the service was Katie Rehbein’s devotion to her children. Everyone remembered her as a wonderful mom to her four kids, Bransten, Rosalie, Evangeline and Gabriel.

“She gave me four bundles of joy,” said fiancé Andrew Weber. “When I look at them every day, I see a part of her.”

“She loved her kids so much,” Mindi Rehbein said. “And she was a wonderful daughter.”

Mindi Rehbein said she hoped people would remember her daughter for being a strong mom who would do anything for her kids.

“I am overwhelmed by the people who showed up today and the support they have given,” Mindi Rehbein. “Always remember the good in people.”