450 mourn girl with 'contagious smile'

By MARJORIE RIDDLE - mriddle@thestate.com

USC freshman Lauren Astrid Kristiana Mahon was “a rock star without a band,” according to her friend Andy Evans.

Mahon was the second of the seven students killed in a North Carolina beach house fire to be buried this week.

More than 450 people paid their respects at Friday’s funeral in Mauldin.

Mahon, 18, was the definition of a lady who touched many lives, Evans said.

Her enthusiasm for life was her defining attribute, said Lauren Hodge, president of Delta Delta Delta sorority, of which Mahon was a pledge.

“She had a contagious smile. She would talk so fast,” Hodge said. “That made her stand out in a class of 75 pledges.”

More than 40 members of the Tri-Delta sorority attended the funeral, huddled together, crying.

After the service, a group of Mahon’s friends sat in front of pictures of her mounted on poster-board and recalled happy times with Mahon at Hillcrest High School in Simpsonville and at the University of South Carolina.

“She’s our Barbie,” said Alex Bass, who attended Hillcrest High with Mahon.

When someone got to know her, what stood out more than anything was her strength, said Lindy Craft, Mahon’s roommate.

“She pushed us to see how great life was,” Craft said. “We use to talk all night long” about California, where Craft is from, and about boys, sorority life, football and how much Mahon loved Clemson and even Georgia more than Carolina.

Mahon attended USC even though she was an avid Clemson fan because of the reputation of the business school, said her father, Roger Mahon, a family practice physician in Fountain Inn.

Mahon “was going to be a bright spot at Carolina,” he said. “She was goal-oriented ... and was focused on being a real estate lawyer. If this hadn’t happened, she would’ve gotten there.”

Dennis Pruitt, USC vice president for student affairs, Jerry Brewer, USC associate vice president for student affairs, and Donna Sorensen, wife of USC president Andrew Sorensen, attended the funeral.

“We’re going to all the funerals to show our respect for the families and our admiration for the children,” Pruitt said. “Watching the communities come together to support the families is totally inspirational. ... The Carolina community is caring and has come together in ways that are inexpressible in words.”

Mahon’s father and mother, Kaaren Mann, said they have been comforted by the outpouring of support from the Simpsonville and USC communities.

“There’s been a coming together of the whole Clemson/Carolina family,” said Roger Mahon, a Clemson graduate.

“When things go bad, we’re really one family. Football’s a game, but this is life. I’ve been impressed by the compassion and spirit of South Carolina, both the university and the state.”

Reach Riddle at (803) 771-8435.