Family, friends, classmates and teachers remember Stillwater Christian School student Tabitha Migwi, 16, as an enthusiastic and sweet spirit, humble leader, kindhearted peacemaker, bright student and joyful servant to God.

She was rarely without a confident smile or word of encouragement.

Tabitha died Monday in a vehicle accident between Whitefish and Columbia Falls. On Tuesday, counselors with the Flathead Valley Quick Response team were on hand along with six area pastors to console students as they mourned the loss of their classmate. Students wrote moving tributes to Tabitha on banners according to English teacher Cinda Wilson. 

“They are just beautiful tributes to a really thoughtful girl. She was confidence personified — always smiling, always willing to do what she needed to do. She had a great influence on many of her classmates,” Wilson said. “There were many tributes of ways that she helped students.” Migwi, who was in her junior year, was noted for being “kind to underclassmen and encouraging.”

Wilson described Tabitha as an outstanding writer, whose talents were evident at a young age. She also shined in history, theater, and music.

“Her eighth-grade language arts teacher sent me a copy of her work and said, ‘this is who you have coming up — thought you might like to see it, Wilson said. “Her writing is just phenomenal.”

Her history teacher Ryan O’Rourke said Tabitha was very studious.

“Tabitha was an incredible student,” O’Rourke said. “She was articulate and bright.”

Tabitha started attending Stillwater in kindergarten, and had a 3.97 grade point average in high school. In a beginning-of-the-year survey by her science teacher Sarah O’Rourke, Tabitha listed her goals for the school year,

“I want to finish with straight A’s, a four-point-zero, and finish reading ‘Ulysses’ and start on St. Aquinas’ writings. Beyond that, I’d also love to expand and retain my knowledge, start Pre-Calc and learn how to make a souffle and macaroons.”

Tabitha was also a budding actress. Tabitha’s performance in the lead role of Stillwater’s version of “Cinderella,” is a moment theater instructor Jennifer Stebbins-Han remembers well. She recalled the scene where Cinderella’s old dress is transformed into a blue and white ball gown by her fairy godmother.

“[Musician] Alicia Keys’ ‘Girl on Fire,’ was playing and Tabitha twirled out on stage in her beautiful ball gown as Cinderella. It was a magnificent scene,” Stebbins-Han said.

 Jennifer expressed a sentiment echoed by those who remembered Tabitha.

“Nothing I can say can be enough,” Stebbins-Han said. “I was very blessed to know her.”

Tabitha was involved in Stillwater’s chamber choir, women’s choir, wind ensemble, jazz band, drama and art program, National Honor Society and tutored elementary students. She also served as the vice president of her class.

“She was classy, bright, cheerful, and upbeat — truly a fountain of joy,” said Stillwater Christian Middle School and High School Principal Dana Hashley. “She was known as a selfless student who loved others and lifted them up with her kind nature. Her last words to me were, “What else can I do to help?”

Outside of school, Tabitha was an active member of Hope Church, volunteered for the Museum at Central School and was selected for United Way’s Leaders of Tomorrow.

Between tears, Tabitha’s mother Kristen talked about her only child.

“A love of God and a love of people emanated throughout her being,” Kristen said. “She was such a tender-hearted person. How do you put it into words? She was very energetic and loved life. She loved to travel and experience new things. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do.”

Kristen, a third-grade teacher at Russell School in Kalispell, remembered her daughter’s love for writing and said she was an avid reader with her bedroom walls covered in favorite quotes.

“She was a great creative writer,” Kristen said. “She also loved history. She knew more about history then I ever knew and I’m a teacher. She just blew me away with her knowledge.”

Her adventurous nature and love of history likely stemmed from her early start traveling abroad. With missionary grandparents, Don and Ruth Slabaugh, Kristen and her daughter at just 1 1/2 years old traveled to Papua, New Guinea, where they lived until Tabitha turned 4. 

Recently, Tabitha traveled with her mother to the Czech Republic, where her grandparents continued their mission work. Tabitha and her mother spent about a month there before traveling to Scotland and England over the summer.

“Her dream was to go to London and Scotland,” Kristen said. “She had a huge list of countries she wanted to visit.”

Don Slabaugh said his granddaughter’s future was full of possibilities. 

“She wanted to see the world,” he said. “When we talked about what she wanted to do, she would get a big smile on her face and say ‘be a writer for National Geographic magazine.’”

He said this was the type of go-getter Tabitha was.

“She was fun loving,” Slabaugh said. “She was just an amazing gift to us — always, always cheerful, always looking on the bright side. Her faith in God was deep and the very root of her life.”

A memorial service for Tabitha will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Hope Church, 436 Birch Grove Road, Kalispell.

Stillwater Christian School is collecting donations to help the family cover funeral expenses and to establish a scholarship fund in Tabitha Migwi’s name. 

Checks may be made payable to Stillwater Christian School. Donations may be sent to Stillwater Christian School, 255 FFA Drive, Kalispell, MT, 59901.

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com.