Denise Morgan, an Irish mother-of-one who was shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide in New York last month, was described as a "bubbly woman" who always had time to greet people during her funeral service in County Louth on Saturday morning.
Denise, 39, was laid to rest following a funeral mass at the Church of the Assumption in Tullyallen, near Drogheda, in County Louth.
Denise received fatal gunshot wounds to the head and neck in a house in Queens in the early hours of Saturday, October 21, following an argument with her partner Joed Taveras, 33, who then turned the gun on himself.
Upon arrival at the house in Glendale, emergency services observed that both Denise and Taveras were unresponsive and unconscious in the second-floor living room. Both were pronounced dead at the scene and a gun was found beside Taveras' body.
At Saturday's funeral service, parish priest Fr. Sean Dooley said Denise would be remembered as a "lovely, bubbly, polite woman who always had time to greet another person".
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"She has been the most beautiful mother, person, daughter, sister, cousin, niece, and friend.
"Her many Facebook posts and pictures tell of a woman oozing with a love that attracted others."
Fr. Dooley added that Denise was "born to be a mum" and said her nine-year-old daughter Mollie was the "center of her life".
He said Denise's life was cut short in a "brutal" way and said there would sadly be "no justice for her in this world".
Fr. Dooley said Denise's tragic death was an opportunity for the community to develop a better understanding of domestic violence and call out inappropriate behavior.
Speaking on behalf of the Morgan family, Denise's cousin Mandy described her as a "unique and beautiful soul" who touched so many people's lives in a "profound way".
"Life for Denise revolved around her Molly Wee. She was the love of her life. She was the reason for Denise to smile every day and her smile was infectious.
When Denise first moved to New York, she lived in a place called Sunnyside. She put the sun in Sunnyside.
"We didn't just lose Denise, we lost a piece of ourselves that will never return."
Denise was laid to rest in an adjacent cemetery following Saturday's funeral service.
She is survived by her daughter Mollie, her sisters Lisa and Shannon, her brother John, her parents Deirdre and Noel, and Mollie's dad Larry.
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