The legacy of Karlee Jo Hallahan goes further than a 21-year-old lady with a skin disease. She touched lives with her infectious optimism, her ability to dream, her love of life.

People who knew Karlee paint a picture:

“She was one of the most high spirited people you could ever meet,” said Charlie Hollingsworth, one of Karlee’s best friends. “It is hard to put so many years of friendship in words and she has taught me so much.”

Clare Littrell, a cousin, said Karlee was a playmate in childhood and a friend.

“She was always worried about other people,” Clare said. “She really was the love of my life.”

Natalie Bird, also a cousin, said Karlee gave her a love for baking that started with a flour fight.

“She was really strong willed, open-minded, and an amazing person overall,” Natalie said.

For little brothers Tyler and Tanner, they were Karlee’s biggest fans according to their mom Camelia Hallahan.

Karlee had Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) since birth, a genetic disorder she lived with every day. In 2017, her small stature was kept wrapped because 80 percent of her body was an open wound. She surpassed expectations of the disease that can claim victims as early as one to four-years-old.

“This is the worst livable type of the disease and it is terminal,” Camelia said in an interview in 2017 when Karlee was crowned Rodeo Queen during the Ya Yas Bucking for a Cure event. Karlee was the inspiration and original recipient of funds from the organization.

“She doesn’t want people to define her as EB,” her mom said during that long-past interview. “She is chronic to terminal.”

She never let the disease define her.

Weeks before the 2017 event, Karlee lost one of her best friends to the disease. During her interview, she maintained that her case was less severe than others and continued to mentor to children younger than herself going through the stages she had passed.

“Karlee has become an advocate for kids going through the same disease,” Camelia had said in 2017.

She had first-hand experience in fighting the chronic anemia and undergoing frequent blood transfusions.

To her classmates and friends in Vienna, she was compassionate. Charlie said she met her friend when they start kindergarten in Belle. They had the same homeroom teacher through fourth grade.

“We met the first day of kindergarten. Ever since meeting her I felt I needed to help people like her. I remember a lot of people wouldn’t go near her,” Charlie said. “I played with her, had sleepovers, we played with her Bratz dolls.”

Clare said her favorite story of Karlee was on her mother’s wedding day to her father, Jake Hallahan.

“She always used to be taller than me. Her mom got married and we went to my Nana’s bathroom and I had sat down and she was brushing my hair,” Clare recalls. “I don’t remember where everyone else was. She said something and I looked up and conked her in the nose and her nose started bleeding. I was apologizing and she goes ‘Clare, are you Ok?’ It’s one of my favorite memories, because even though I hurt her, she wanted to make sure I was okay. She was always worried about other people.”

She made it through the milestones no one ever thought she would, and did it with spunk.

Friends surprised her on her sweet 16 with a party — when surprising her was difficult. She loved to watch Friends, scary movies, eat Rolos candies and drink Mountain Dew. Her favorite movie was The Fault in Our Stars.

Karlee’s mom once said in an interview that her daughter’s compassion crossed state lines on multiple occasions, helping other friends with EB.

“She just talked a kid going through his first wrap,” Camelia said in 2017. “One of her friends from New York gets really high anxiety during dressing changes and she talks him through it.”

During that past Ya Yas event, Karlee’s family was determined to help her have a functional life that was happy, despite the drawbacks. Since graduating from Vienna High School in 2016, Karlee enrolled at East Central College to major in psychology. Later she said she was taking a break to volunteer her time at Visitation Inter-Parish School in Vienna.

“She liked learning about people and how the brain works,” Charlie said. “She wanted to go to school, but didn’t want to spend her life in school because she wasn’t sure how long she would live.”

Charlie said she chose to go into social work because of Karlee.

“I got to celebrate her 21st birthday with her and of all memories with her, that is the best,” Hollingsworth said. “She surpassed all expectations of the doctors.”

There were a lot of things Karlee hadn’t done and still wanted to do.

“Six months ago when she really got sick, I was still thinking she was going to surpass this,” Charlie said.

Her alma mater helped the family raise money for “Karlee’s Bucket List Adventures” in September.

The family posted on their Facebook page a list of things Karlee wanted to do, including taking a hot air balloon ride, go zip-lining, visit a winery and enjoy wine tastings, take a horse-drawn carriage ride through a city, and visit Paris, France.

The Vienna and Belle communities were glued to pictures of Karlee’s adventures on Facebook, riding in a hot air balloon in October, at the Hermann wineries last November and exploring Paris, France in December.

Then on Jan. 24, Karlee broke the hearts of many when she died at home, surrounded by her family.

“Heaven gained another angel today,” family posted on her “Adventures” Facebook page. “Our butterfly has her wings. Karlee touched so many lives and we know she is smiling down on us, awaiting our arrival to be together once again.”

While the community sent thoughts and prayers of comfort, her mother posted “Karlee was our hero. In spite of her painful disease, we got the honor of helping her live her best life. We are so thankful we were chosen to be her family!”

The lives she touched will keep going.

“Her legacy to me — it would have to be always go out and do whatever you can, no matter what,” Clare said. “That’s what she wants. Go out and explore life and have adventures and have fun and not worry about anything.”

“I know she was an inspiration to a lot of people,” Natalie said.

“She asked me to keep living for her, and I plan to do that,” Charlie said.

The Maries County Sheriff’s Department posted on its Facebook page, “Our thoughts and prayers are with Karlee’s family, friends and the entire Vienna community...We can all learn from a heart like hers.”

The Ya Yas who began to help a young girl in 2007 with a life-threatening disease has assisted so many others over the years and continues to support members of the community who need it.

Her family will be turning all donations given to them in Karlee’s honor into a scholarship fund in her memory. They also welcome donations to DEBRA (Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa Research of America) in honor of Karlee. Visit www.debra.org to learn more.

“Our family greatly appreciates the love and support we have been shown throughout her life. Thank you,” they wrote.

Donations should be made to Jacob or Camelia Hallahan.

A celebration of life will be held for Karlee from 2 to 6 p.m. with a prayer and balloon release at 4 p.m. at the Vienna United Methodist Church, 1102 Highway 63 in Vienna.