OSHTEMO TWP., Mich. — The family of Marissa Mion wants the world to know her not as a victim, but as a fighter and a loving mother who put her children above everything else.
On July 5, the Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Office responded to a call at Colonial Manor Mobile Home Park, where authorities say Mion was shot multiple times.
I met loved ones of Marissa Mion at a park in Paw Paw, where they shared happy memories and spoke about who she was.
"She was the best sister. She was the best mom. She was the best friend. She was loved by the community. She was really..she was a sweet person. She felt like she was invincible. Resilient. Compassionate, smart, funny," her brother Brandon Mion said.
Her aunt, Cyndi Thomas, said Mion would not have wanted to be defined by the way she died.
"She would never want to be remembered as a victim. She would want to be remembered as a loving, caring mom," Thomas said.
The family's last memory of Mion was at a Fourth of July gathering the day before she died. She brought banana pudding and stayed until the fireworks were over.
Watch: 'She was the best mom': Family remembers Marissa Mion after Kalamazoo County shooting
"Really tough. To make it through the grief process. She touched so many lives. Not just our family's life. She had an impact on so many in Kalamazoo," cousin Josh Thomas said.
Court records say Ernesto Santini is charged in connection to her death with open murder. Santini is the father of Mion's children, according to records. Those same records say a sergeant heard Santini say "I shot my girl" at the scene, and that the children were present when it happened.
Friends Taylor Lhamon and Natalie Clopton remembered Mion as a mother who made her children her priority.
"She would pride herself on how her children were happy. Anything for her children," Lhamon said.
"Yeah. If her kids wanted something at the zoo, she was always going to buy them it. A drink. A toy," Clopton said.
"She didn't have the best childhood growing up. So she made sure her kids had so much more than she ever could have thought," Lhamon said.
Her family's message to others in the wake of her death is simple.
"Tell everybody you love them, when you can. Because there might not be another day," Michael said.
"I agree with that Michael. Listen to your loved ones. Listen deeply. Love deeply. Care deeply for your loved ones," Brandon said.
"And don't be afraid to act. Don't be afraid to act," Josh said.
Family of Marissa has organized a GoFundMe.
Resources are there for people who need them.
National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233
Kalamazoo YWCA Crisis Hotline: 269-385-3587
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