Family, Friends Say Farewell to Lauren D'Amato

Friends and family said their final goodbyes to  at a packed St. Patrick's Church in Yorktown Heights today. Her mother Cathy walked in ahead of the casket and cried out "Oh, God Almighty" as her family was holding her up. 

Lauren died , when the college student lost control of her car while driving south on Hanover Street, striking two trees. Police said the cause of the accident was speeding.

Cathy D'Amato started her eulogy with a story about her daughter, who went away for two weeks to take care of a house in Wisconsin, she had forgotten her iPod. So her mother bought her one and his father and sister filled it with music. 

"She thought that was the kindest thing a mother could do," she said. 

So while she was there, Lauren made a journal for her mother's birthday, from which Cathy read. 

"This journal is for you to read so not only can you see how much I am happy to have you in my life, but also how much I've learned from you," the journal read. "I hope you understand this journal has come from my heart."

In the journal, Lauren wrote, "This is a new beginning for me, a fresh start." She had a different point of view of how she sees the world, and values her family. 

"It took me too long to understand, to understand that the people who brought me to this life are the only people who will be there when I leave this life and every moment of every day in between my life," her mother read Lauren's words through tears. "I will look over my shoulder and they will be there no matter what. Some people consider this growing up and becoming a woman, which is occurring, but I really consider this a transformation."

Lauren wrote she learned she was the only person who had control over her life, and thanked her mother for instilling strength, confidence, perseverance and patience in her. 

"I wouldn't change one memory, and I do not regret one argument, or one hardship in our relationship, because it brought me to this exact moment [...] I will love [my mother] for eternity with everything in me, because that's the way she loves my sisters and I."

Cathy said she too loved her daughter and has never experienced such heartache. 

The Rev. Augustine A. Addai said the letter Lauren had written should give consolation to those who loved her.

"When you listen to it carefully, it was as if she was writing her goodbye letter," he said.

She used the word transformation, and in another sense, she is going through another transformation right now from this life into eternal life, he said.

"She had done it all, what more was she waiting for?" he asked because in her short years Lauren had lived life to the fullest. 

He said when friends and family ask the question of why it had to be her, why did it have to happen so soon, there is no answer, but loved ones should know that they were blessed to have had Lauren in their lives. She loved life, laughed a lot, was generous and caring. 

Addai encouraged her loved ones to look to the future with hope. He said Lauren was at peace and had now completed her journey by going back to God. From the silence of her coffin, he said he believed, she would want her family and friends not to blame anyone or put life on hold because she was gone. 

Her older sister Jessica had told him she was adorable, beautiful inside and out, not judgemental and gave everyone the benefit of the doubt. 

Deborah McLaughlin, Lauren's aunt, said she had a beautiful smile. 

"Our lives and our hearts have been touched by an angel," she said. "Lola always had a listening ear, eager to help, comfort, learn and especially make you laugh."

Although there were challenges in her niece's life, she said, she had the courage and determination to overcome them. 

"We had the privilege of holding her in our arms at every stage of her life," she said. "She was the cutest, the most adorable, affectionate niece."

Yorktown Councilman Terrence Murphy, a good friend of the family, said he will remember Lauren as a vivacious, energetic, spunky and fabulous girl.

"It's a tragic loss for everybody, not only for the family and for us personally because we knew her so well, but for the community because of how much she gave back to the community."

Taylor Lucas, a friend from high school, described Lauren as a genuine person, who had big dreams, and many people loved her.

Burial followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla.