CLINTON, Iowa — Family and friends gathered together Sunday night for a candlelight vigil to celebrate the life of a woman killed in a Clinton house fire.
The fire occurred just before 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9, at a two-story residence on 9th Avenue South. One resident, who has been identified as 68-year-old Jolene Farley, did not survive.
One woman who was close with Farley said she was struggling with the loss of her son, Chad.
"Knowing that she's up there with him, that's the only thing that brings me any kind of peace. Just knowing how long they waited for each other to be together, that's it," Nikki Hinrchs, a close friend and longtime neighbor, said while tearing up. "That reunion up there was long overdue. I know they both missed each other dearly."
Despite her grief, Hinrichs could not help but smile when talking about Jolene.
"She was a sweet lady," Hinrichs said. "Loved Neil Diamond. Neil Diamond was her all-time favorite. Her name on Facebook was Jolene Diamond because that's her husband. She was so beautiful, so fun. She never met a person who she couldn't become a friend with."
The pair go way back, Hinrichs said. Farley was in the delivery room when Hinrichs gave birth to all of her kids. The two were neighbors for over two decades.
"I keep waiting for her now, for her phone call, 'Can I get a Diet Mt. Dew please?'... I'd love to get her a Diet Mt. Dew," Hinrichs said.
The cause of the fire has still not been released and is under investigation by the Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office.