BETHEL – Purple balloons filled the air as Cindy Beatson, one of four people killed in a Labor Day weekend shooting spree near this western Maine tourist town, was buried at Riverside Cemetery.

Purple was one of the favorite colors of the 43-year-old mother and real estate agent whose body was found Sept. 5 at the Black Bear Bed & Breakfast in Newry.

The mood was somber yet upbeat on Saturday as family members, friends and neighbors packed the Bethel Alliance Church to pay last respects to Beatson and recall her vibrant personality.

“Cindy chose to live a very full life, rock star status, in a small town girl kind of way,” friend Kathy Koveleski said in her eulogy.

“She was a joy to be with and work with,” Koveleski said, and “her eyes sparkled with life, mischief and interest.”

Beatson grew up in Sudbury, Mass., studied at Babson College and moved to Bethel in her late 20s, planning to stay for just the ski season. But along the way she fell in love. She and her husband, Doug, had a daughter, Carlee, now 12, and the family decided to make a life near the Sunday River ski area.

“Bethel was her forever home,” said friend Pam O’Reilly. “She lived life and lived it to the fullest.”

Beatson was killed after she and friend Selby Bullard visited the Black Bear to check on Julie Bullard, Selby’s mother and owner of the inn.

The dismembered bodies of the three women were found on the property. The body of the fourth victim, boarder James Whitehurst, was found in woods a few towns away in Upton.

Christian Nielsen, a cook who lived at the Black Bear, has been charged with murdering all four.

“This has really broken this town,” Pastor Kevin Bellinger of Alliance Church said. “For us, it was as catastrophic as 9-11.”