Last modified: Friday, August 1, 2008 1:23 AM EDT Celebrating a life BY MATT KAKLEY SUN CHRONICLE STAFF MANSFIELD - A sparkling smile, a sense of humor that could get a laugh from anyone and a personality that could light up a room. Those are the things loved ones will remember about Alexa Latteo, a Mansfield teen killed in a car accident on Saturday and who was laid to rest on Wednesday. As friends and family gathered at her funeral, they leaned on each other and their faith to cope with the loss of a young woman who lived life to the fullest. "We are here to celebrate Alexa's life, not mourn her death," Peter Holmes, Latteo's stepfather, said in a eulogy. Struggling to hold back tears as he spoke, Holmes read letters written by Latteo's loved ones about what they would say to her if she was back for five minutes. Eliciting both laughs and tears, the letters told the story of a girl who became so close to her friends that many considered her family. "'You were my sis, even if we had different color skin,'" Holmes said, quoting one of the letters. It was such devotion to those she loved that defined Latteo. We will always remember "her complete and total dedication to her family and her friends," the Rev. William Sylvia said in his homily. "She befriended everyone she met, whether it was school, work or home." Of the hundreds crowded into St. Mary's Church, many were just teenagers, themselves. Dabbing their eyes with tissues and rubbing each others' backs, the teens tried their best to console one another, seemingly shocked that someone their own age could be gone so soon. Overcome with the emotion of the day, Latteo's parents sobbed as they followed her casket out of the church to sounds of "Amazing Grace" playing over the church's sound system. Friends and relatives held hands and embraced as they left the church, trying to make sense of the tragedy. Latteo, 19, was killed Saturday when she lost control of her car and crashed head on into a tree on Route 1 in Wrentham. Also killed in the accident was Debra Davis, 20, of Milton, a passenger in the car. A funeral for Davis will be held today in Milton. Another passenger in the car, Nina Houlihan, 20, of Norton, was seriously injured, but is expected to recover. In his eulogy, Holmes said Latteo's spirit will never go away and invited her friends to stop by the house to help keep her alive. Everyone who knew her will carry her loving spirit wherever they go, he said. As mourners gathered outside of the church, they hugged and cried as Latteo's casket was put into a hearse and driven away. While Latteo may have been gone, they had each other to share an embrace or a story and to try to cope with a tragic end to a young life.