Joy is a word that Savannah Gold’s family said she represented.
Gold was missing for more than three days before her accused killer was arrested.
The 21-year-old went missing Wednesday night. Police said her manager at Bonefish, Lee Rodarte, confessed to her murder Saturday and led police to her body.
Since then, a GoFundMe account has been set up to help the Gold family with funeral expenses.
"She brought joy to everyone's life and so they wanted to give back," Savannah’s uncle, Frank Pastine, said.
At last check, the GoFundMe raised more than $22,000.
"Reading some of the comments have been heartwarming," Pastine said. "We just can't thank everyone not just with GoFundMe, but going out there and handing out flyers just being a family to us at this time," Pastine said.
The money for the Gold family is going toward the costs of Savannah’s funeral.
"We all want them to not have to worry about how they are going to pay for this, how they are going to live for the next couple weeks," Pastine said.
The family is planning a celebration of life for Savannah because they said that’s what she would have wanted.
"We want to look at what Savannah brought to our life and not how she perished," Pastine said.