By Ahjane Forbes, USA Today | A 5-year-old Colorado girl, Aurora Masters, tragically died a few weeks ago after being strangled by a swing set in the backyard of her family’s home.

Although this tragedy has gained national attention, her parents don’t want the world to remember her by her death, but by the way she lived.

Born on July 10, 2018, in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is located about 63 miles north of Denver, Aurora Masters was full of life and managed to bring a community together through her music, performances and wise character she exhibited as a young child.

Although Aurora loved Princess Elsa from “Frozen”, “Ghostbusters” and “Wednesday”, her parents say she was not your average 5-year-old. Krystal and Tom Masters told USA TODAY what they want the world to know about their daughter’s life.

This is Aurora’s story.

Aurora Masters was ‘precocious’

With her mom going to college for performing arts, you could say Aurora had a natural talent from a young age. After watching the Netflix series “Wednesday” with her dad Aurora became obsessed with the character. So much so that she planned to look exactly like Wednesday. She asked her dad if she could get bangs.

Aurora’s mom then got a hair appointment scheduled, but Aurora was so excited she couldn’t wait that long.

“There’s a lot of scissors around because it’s Christmas time and we’re wrapping paper. But she had to have gotten in the mirror and was so extra super careful,” Tom Masters said. “She didn’t cut them even or straight, but she only cut the hairs that should have been a part of the bangs. I was honestly pretty impressed.”

“She is the epitome of the word precocious,” Krystal Masters said.

Remembering Aurora

A memorial service for Aurora will be held on Saturday, June 8. A spaghetti dinner will be served since spaghetti was her favorite food, Krystal Masters said.

To honor Aurora’s memory, the family plans to create a foundation with a focus of boosting someone’s mental health through a music and bringing the community together whether they are a musician or a supportive clapper.

“We’ve already had people over to barbecue, you know, try to reclaim the backyard where the accident happened,” Tom Masters said. “We’re just moving on in the way that she would want, like a ‘Frozen’ song, ‘The next right thing.’ That’s how we’re honoring her so far.”

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at aforbes@gannett.com. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and X (Twitter).

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Remembering Aurora Masters: Parents honor girl’s life after tragedy

(Aurora was really into music and entertained with her dad Tom who played guitar)