It was a day for sorrow, not bitterness.

A crowd estimated at 300 people on Friday attended a memorial service for Yolanda Riddle, one of the three people killed in the Boardwalk Apartments fire. But the crowd, during and after the ceremony at Haskell Indian Nations University, recounted memories of the young social worker, a Haskell and Kansas University graduate.

There were no harsh words for the suspect in Riddle’s death, 20-year-old Jason Allen Rose, who has been charged with murder and arson.

Friends of Riddle said that response was appropriate because it wasn’t in Riddle’s nature to hold anyone in contempt.

“She wasn’t a person to have bitterness,” Venida Chenault, a Haskell professor, said of Riddle, who worked for five years as a child welfare worker, most recently for the Kansas Social Rehabilitation Services office in Ottawa. “Knowing the accused person is part of the (child welfare) system, I think her response to him would be one of more compassion than most.”

Friends and family members of Yolanda Riddle stand for a prayer service in memory of Riddle, who died in the Boardwalk Apartments fire last week. Riddle, 33, a Lawrence social worker, was honored with memorial speeches from various loved ones.

Losing a friend and a nurturer of the human spirit was the greatest grief for many of Thursday’s mourners.

“I didn’t realize until now how many people my aunt had helped,” said her niece, Priscilla Lugo. “That means the world to us now.”

Riddle, 33, was described as having a “magnetic” personality and an independent streak that led her to often change her hair color and skateboard across the Haskell campus.

“She was punk before punk was in,” said Dan Wildcat, a Haskell professor who had Riddle as a student. “I never knew what color her hair would be. She wore clothes with holes in them before they were selling them at Abercrombie & Fitch.

“But she gave love unconditionally. It didn’t matter what your skin color was; it didn’t matter what your politics were. She had an openness that we all could aspire to.”

A photographic memorial of Yolanda Riddle waits outside the Haskell Auditorium during her memorial service Friday evening.

Others remembered “Yo,” as some of her friends called her, as a person who loved to spoil children and was quick to provide a shoulder to lean on for friends in need.

“She came from humble beginnings,” Chenault said of Riddle, who grew up in Wichita. “There was never anything given to her. There were no silver spoons in her mouth. Despite all that, she had wonderful impacts on people.”

Chenault said in their last conversation Riddle told her that she was considering adopting a child and also was contemplating a move to start life anew. Chenault said Riddle had recently applied for a job in Alaska.

Friday’s memorial featured several American Indian ceremonies and blessings. Riddle was a member of the Dine Indian Nation.

Two other people were killed in the blaze: Nicole Bingham, a KU student, and Jose Gonzalez, an electrician. The fire last Friday morning in the 500 block of Fireside Drive left more than 80 people homeless.