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Funeral services are planned for a Mitchell High School graduate who was killed on her way home from her mother’s wedding Sunday near Mitchell.

Cristen Dawn Rayhill-Chapman, 22, is being remembered by friends and family as a “jolly, happy person” who loved everybody.

Cristen’s mother, Sherry, married Tony McNeely in a ceremony that took place at Spice Valley Baptist Church in Marion Township. Cristen was killed on the way home from the reception.

Sherry McNeely, formerly Sherry Rayhill, remembered her daughter as a “jolly, happy person,” and said, “Whoever she was around, she was like a clown. She would cheer you up. She liked to joke and clown. She had big, beautiful, blue eyes and a pretty smile. She had a big heart, and she loved everybody.”

McNeely also said her daughter was close to her four siblings and added, “She has a new niece that is 6 weeks old. She thought the world of her. She called her a darling angel.”

Cristen also is the daughter Chuck Rayhill of Orleans.

The accident occurred at 8:40 p.m. on Cassidy Lane, south of Hummingbird Lane, near Mitchell.

A report filed by Sgt. Dave Flynn of the Lawrence County Police Department states Chapman was traveling north when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle went of out of control. The 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse then slid off the right side of the road, hitting a utility pole broadside. The pole was broken and Chapman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from the vehicle.

Chapman, who lived in Bedford, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chapman graduated in 2000 from Mitchell High School, where her mother said, she was “a high honor and straight A student.” She also played in the band, participated in Students Against Destructive Decisions and was on the list of Who’s Who Among American High School Students.

In October 2001, she was one of 20 Lawrence County 4-H club members who received awards for completing 10 years of 4-H work. She was also a winner of the Indiana Farm Bureau Tenure Award.

In 1999, Cristen was a princess in the 1999 Persimmon Festival Queen Contest. She was a member of the Williams Baptist Church.

McNeely said Cristen had resigned her job as a bartender at Bandana’s in Bedford and had worked her last day there Sunday. She had scheduled two job interviews for Monday.

Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Spice Valley Baptist Church with Rev. Lewis Williams officiating. Burial will follow in the Spice Valley Cemetery. Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Chastain Funeral Home in Mitchell and from 9 a.m. until the service time on Thursday at the church.

McNeely said of her daughter, “She was a beautiful girl. She will be missed.”