Portrait of Brenda Dye Emerges Online

Friends and family of murder victim Brenda Dye are remembering her as a kind and compassionate woman of deep faith, and a devoted wife and mother who loved all of her children. In a sign of the times, some of that outpouring of grief is being shared in the digital realm. On Facebook, those who knew Brenda have turned her page into a scrapbook of memories of a woman loved by many. 

suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper torso on Tuesday.

Brenda's nephew Chris Dye's loss was palpable in his writings. He admits that there are unanswered questions about why his aunt was murdered, and fears that his family may never have the answers to all of them. Amidst his family's tragedy, which has brought regional media attention, he urged readers to remember Brenda as she lived. 

"She was a very kind lady that always had a smile on her face," wrote Chris Dye. "She loved her children and her family, she worked very hard to give her family everything they needed and more, she was a devoted wife to my Uncle Ronnie whom she loved dearly, she always wasn't afraid to speak her mind if needed."

Brenda was called BJ by her friends. She raised five children who in turn have produced four grandchildren. 

"Those are just a few of the many qualities that made Brenda who she was," wrote Chris Dye. 

Brenda was very active on Facebook, with a list of contacts 152 deep. She is listed as having previously worked at RS Masonry. She used Facebook to post frequent updates about the milestones and minutiae of her family life. Her photo albums are plastered with pictures of her children. She also had an apparent love of country music, regularly sharing YouTube music videos of such performers as Brad Paisley, Justin Moore and George Straight. Her last post on Facebook, a YouTube video of Lee Greenwood singing "USA Today" was posted on Monday morning. 

Brenda also used Facebook to express her Christian faith, frequently using the social network to ask for and offer up prayers for herself and others.

Another relative, Brenda's neice Tracy Sullivan Barbeau writes that she will miss her aunt's advice during tough times. 

"You were such a great mother, friend, aunt and wife to my uncle Ronnie," wrote Barbeau. "I could have asked for a more sweeter and kind-hearted aunt than you."