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Community says goodbye to Alyson Kaplan
Her death came in London

By Lori Porter
Acorn Staff Writer
February 27, 2003

Hundreds of mourners gathered at Pierce Bros. Memorial Park last Sunday for Alyson Ilene Kaplan’s memorial service on a tiny knoll underneath an oak tree. The group gathered to say goodbye to a beautiful young woman that everyone knew as Aly, a girl who loved to draw people together and who never left anyone out.

Kaplan was murdered on Jan. 31. Her body was found in a hotel in Pimlico, a part of central London. A male suspect later turned himself into London police.

Kaplan’s body, which remains in a London morgue, hasn’t been released to the family yet, pending pathology reports from the intensive investigation surrounding her murder.

The Kaplan family will have Alyson’s body cremated when it arrives and the ashes will be placed in a crypt beside the oak tree where mourners gathered. Friends are already planning to decorate the tree with wind chimes and various other offerings in remembrance of their friend.

Following the graveside service, mourners gathered at Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village for a memorial service that celebrated the life of 20-year-old Alyson with a video that captured Kaplan’s personality from the time she was a baby to a graduating teenager, to young adult. Songs such as "God Loves You" and "One Sweet Day" played in the background as friends and relatives tearfully watched.

Rabbi Gary Johnson and Pastor Warren Schuh opened the service with a prayer that Johnson recited in Hebrew, Schuh in English.

"We can’t change the past," Johnson told the mourners. "But each of you, in your presence here today, have been able to bring some hope to the Kaplan family." Everyone should treasure every moment and every day, Johnson said, because tomorrow is uncertain.

Looking to the hundreds of young mourners, Johnson encouraged them to sacrifice a part of themselves to a cause that will bring life to others. "We all die without ever achieving all our desires," he said.

Many friends went to the podium to share their memories of Kaplan. Some recited original poetry written for Kaplan, while others talked about the impact she had on their lives. One girl said, "Alyson would have made a great psychologist because she was so good at listening to and helping others."

Kaplan’s half-sister, 20 years or so older, spoke about the little sister she had just come to know more intimately, only after Alyson got her license and was able to drive to the Antelope Valley to visit her. "From the talks we had, I began to realize my sister was a beautiful young caring woman, who loved life, and from what I hear, saved a lot of your lives."

Kaplan’s younger sister, Tara, 17, wrote a speech about Alyson and had a friend read it for her. "I always wanted to be with my sister. I followed her and her friends everywhere, I looked up to her and really relied on her."

Family and friends gathered at the Kaplan home in Agoura Hills after the services for refreshments, packing the neighborhood with hundreds of cars.

Kaplan loved animals and was especially fond of dolphins. The Kaplan family plans to have a bronze sculpture of a dolphin beside her crypt at Pierce Bros.

Donations can be made to the Alyson Kaplan Memorial Foundations at 5699 Kanan Road, No. 234 Agoura Hills, Ca. 91301. To further celebrate Alyson’s life, visit the Website in her name at www.alysonkaplan.com.