EL CAJON, Calif. (KGTV)— Family and friends of 19-year-old Kiera Bergman gathered at the Ronald Reagan Community Center to celebrate her life.
A month-long search ended in a body discovery in the Arizona desert. Her ex-boyfriend, 23-year-old John Clark is accused of killing her.
Kiera Bergman was the eldest daughter of the Bergman-Bragg family. Her mother Kiersten Bragg remembered Kiera had a strong personality, even before she was born.
“I never forget I would always crave SpaghettiOs and that was one of her favorite things to eat,” Bragg said. She said as a teen Kiera would crave the canned spaghetti.
Her family told 10News, Kiera was a spunky, playful, chunky toddler.
"I always compared her to the Michelin man because she had tons of rolls everywhere,” her mother laughed.
Then she became a big sister to Braydee. Kiera was silly, artistic, a talented singer, with a big heart. In his speech at the ceremony, her grandfather shared the time she spent her first ever paycheck from her part-time job on the homeless.
“She bought the lady lunch. And I don't know many teenagers who will take their first paycheck and do that. So that kind of shows you what kind of girl she was,” Jim Bergman said, in tears.
They said Kiera hoped to one day combine her giving personality with her dream job - America's best hairstylist.
“Her dream was to at least once or twice a month, go to the homeless and do their hair and make them feel better about themselves,” Bragg said.
But she was not able to live out her dream. Her boyfriend at the time, John Clark, convinced her to drop out of Cosmetology school. The two them moved to Arizona in March. Her boyfriend is accused of killing and leaving Bergman in the Arizona desert.
"That's what breaks my heart. She still had so much love to give,” Bragg said.
Kiera Bergman's celebration of Life ceremony was so packed, it was standing-room only.
Her closest friends and family wore her favorite color Maroon, to honor the 19-year-old, gone too soon.
"I love her so much. I wish she was here with us. And she will never be forgotten. We will share her and her story. I will share it until I die,” Bragg said.
