SAMMAMISH, Wash. -- Residents gathered on Thursday night to honor a former Sammamish woman and her children who were gunned down in June.

Kimberly Vaughn and her three children - 8-year-old Blake, 11-year-old Cassandra and 12-year-old Abbi - were found shot to death in their sports utility vehicle in northern Illinois back in June. Christopher Vaughn, Kimberly's husband and the children's father, is the suspect.

The Vaughn family moved from Sammamish to the Chicago area about a year ago.

Though the Vaughns' lives ended miles away, old friends in Sammamish are treasuring the happy memories they shared with their once-neighbors as they make plans for a permanent memorial. They're taking up a collection to purchase a park bench in the Vaughns' memory, engrave it and place it at East Sammamish Park.

"Though we'd only known each other for a short while, we always felt like we've known each other our whole lives," said Kimberly Moynihan.

Neighbors said Kimberly Vaughn's outgoing personality made it easy to become friends. Some of the neighbors kept in touch with the Vaughns even after they moved to the midwest, but all bonds were shattered when tragedy struck in June.

"After the tragic news made its way to Seattle, I had a sense of hopelessness," said Trish Block, a friend.

Two months later, the pain still feels fresh for many, especially when they think about the young Vaughn children.

"Abbi did that often - made us focus on the good things and made the bad things fuzzy and out of the picture," said Kelsey Hopland.

"Though these four perfect souls are no longer with us, I know they are dancing and rejoicing together in the arms of god watching over us who love them," Moynihan said.

Friends said they will never understand why the unthinkable happened to the Vaughns. Together, they're working to make sure their happiest memories are kept alive.

"They won't be forgotten. No way, they won't," Hopland said.

If you'd like to make a donation to the park bench fund, visit any Washington Mutual bank location.