Friends and family are remembering Christina Faye McKinney of Gorham as loyal, a hard worker, team player and a role model.

“She was the shining star of our life,” said her grandmother, Pat Pond of Windham.

McKinney, 20, died on Friday when a pickup truck she was driving collided head-on with a Gorham school bus on New Portland Road. A funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. today (Jan. 25) at the Dolby Funeral Chapel, 434 River Road in Windham.

McKinney was a 2004 graduate of Gorham High School. The mood at Gorham High School was subdued, as the students and faculty remembered McKinney.

“There’s a pall over things,” said Gorham High School Principal John Drisko. “The students are very respectful.”

One of McKinney’s sisters, Tamara McKinney, lives in Westbrook and another sister, Samantha McKinney, is a senior at Gorham High School. The high school observed a moment of silence before the basketball game Friday night and another on Monday morning. Drisko said counselors were available for grieving students in the school’s guidance department.

Pond said McKinney was a sophomore at the University of Southern Maine. “She wanted to be a nurse,” Pond said.

McKinney had worked two jobs at times, baby-sitting and working at Lampron’s in Little Falls besides going to school, said Pond. “She was a hard worker,” Pond said.

At 16, McKinney worked at McDonald’s to earn money for a car and to save for college. She paid for her own books and took out a student loan to pay for her tuition. She also had been awarded a scholarship from the Lions Club. Pond said her granddaughter’s grades in college were good.

Drisko said McKinney was soft spoken and a good student. “She paid attention to her studies,” Drisko said, adding McKinney was a “very nice kid” who worked hard to accomplish her goals.

In high school, McKinney was a captain of the girls’ indoor track team, throwing the shot put.

The yearbook reported the team had dominated the regular season and was runner up to the state champion in Class B. “(She was) a real team player,” Pond said.

Pond said her granddaughter had a lot of friends and she was loyal to them. “Everyone loved her,” she said.

Stormy Little, a sophomore at Westbrook High School, said McKinney was her sidekick. “Christina was one of my very good friends,” she said. “She was such a good person. I can’t believe she’s gone.”

Little, who knew McKinney for three years, said McKinney was a positive role model. “She was always helping everybody,” Little said. “She was an amazing person.”

Little felt that McKinney is now with Little’s deceased older sister. “She’s with my sister in a good place,” Little said.

Little considered McKinney part of her family. “I love her with all my heart,” she said.

Christina Faye McKinney

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