She is everywhere - in an orange bucket full of sunglasses, in a pair of earrings she made to match her prom dress, in an orange and gold painting from first grade, in the note left at her mother’s desk that says, “I love you.” Her smile, her energy, her zest for life look out from photos on most every wall.

Everywhere they look, family and friends are reminded of the child that Sammie Jones was and the young woman she had become. They grieve for her life lost on a curve in the road just after midnight Saturday.

The 16-year-old died in a one-car accident on Country Club Road. She was about a mile from home.

Earlier that day, Jones, a junior at LaGrange Academy, had played in a second-round state soccer game, kicking her team’s only two goals.

“She played a great game,” said her father, Mark Jones. “She loved soccer.”

Jones also re-membered his daughter as feisty, independent and strong-willed.

“She would go toe-to-toe with anybody, even the referees,” he said.

Both her parents - Mark and Cheryl Jones - attended all the soccer games this season.

“I always went to the games, and this year Mark took time off from starting a new business so he could go to all her games,” Cheryl Jones said. “We felt it was the right thing to do. It was worth it.”

At school Monday, LaGrange Academy students began the day with a schoolwide assembly for sixth- through 12th-graders. Grief counselors and ministers were available to talk with the students.

Members of the soccer team and close friends of Jones spent most of the morning remembering their classmate. Jones and five friends - Jay Miller, Will Blackstock, Ankita Kanwar, Mallory McGow-an and Zoe Herring - were so close they were called “The Crew” by classmates.

“Sammie even made a ‘Crew’ Facebook page,” Blackstock said. “This summer we were going to be together all day, every day. I was going to teach everyone paintball and golf. It was going to be the best summer ever.”

Kanwar recalled Jones as a friend who knew her own mind.

“She was set on going to Auburn. She was the only one in our class who knew what she wanted,” said Kanwar, who also played soccer after Jones persuaded her to join the team in the sixth grade.

The five friends plan to go ahead with Jones’ birthday celebration in a few days.

“We’re still going to celebrate her birthday at Mighty Joe’s,” Blackstock said. “”We’ll all play the crane machine. Sammie always thought she could beat that machine.”

School plans for the last week of school changed when the word went out about Jones’ death. Students who were to take final exams this week can opt out of the tests if they are satisfied with their grades. Classes have been canceled for Thursday so students can attend her funeral, said headmaster Matt Walsh.

“We’re trying to get through a tough situation,” Walsh said. “The students have come together and supported each other. It is inspiring to see them love one another and help each other through it. I’ve been so proud of the students and the community. They’ve been strong.”

Sherri Brown can be reached at sbrown@ lagrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 240.