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ESCONDIDO ---- Ashleigh Elizabeth Roach gave one last performance for her friends and family during a memorial ceremony at Valley Center High School on Thursday morning.

Although she was killed by the Paradise fire Oct. 26, the image of the 16-year-old appeared on a large screen in the corner of the gymnasium while her American sign language classmates gathered on either side of the screen.

A previously recorded video showed Ashleigh signing the words of a song, "The Impossible," which detailed how even the strongest, brightest and toughest things in life can be overcome.

After flawlessly signing the song, Ashleigh let her hands fall to her sides with a contented smile. As Ashleigh's image faded, her signing classmates turned to the screen and waved a final goodbye.

"That was very difficult for me to watch," said her father, John Roach. "That was the first song she learned and she always used to practice on me. It brought me to tears every time she performed it."

Ashleigh died as she, her brother and sister tried to escape the flames of the Paradise fire, which took two lives and destroyed 56,700 acres. While fleeing their rural home, the siblings' car veered off the road and only her brother and sister escaped, according to fire officials.

Her brother, Jason, 22, suffered minor injuries. Her sister, Allyson, 20, suffered second- and third-degree burns to 85 percent of her body. She remains in a drug-induced paralytic state at a San Diego hospital.

Allyson Roach has endured four surgeries to repair her face, ears, hands and lower legs, and so far has been able to keep her fingers, nose and ears, all of which were severely burned, her father said Thursday.

"She is fighting hard," John Roach said. "And she is not getting any worse. But she still has a long, long fight ahead of her. She is going to need a lot of support."

Roach said the family is optimistic about Allyson's recovery, since she has escaped fevers, flus and infections so far. They said they expect their daughter to be in the hospital for at least another six months. She will then need 18 more months of intense rehabilitation, Roach added, as he hugged a large cluster of Allyson's friends who had attended the memorial.

Next to him, his wife, Lori Roach, was tending to a long line of Ashleigh's sobbing classmates, who clung to her after the memorial.

Lori Roach also addressed the students during the event, offering comfort and advice.

Standing in front of the gymnasium, she said of Ashleigh, "If she could speak, I know she would look around and say, 'Whoa!' If she could talk to you, she would say that she is going to miss you guys. She had the incredible capacity to love people, period. She would ask you to live with that strength of conviction, that morality and that compassion."

Her mother then showed the student body Ashleigh's favorite piece of clothing, a black T-shirt with red sleeves with a picture of a cat and the phrase "Kitty with Claws."

"This shirt embodies Ashleigh," her mother said. "She was cute, cuddly, strong and sweet, but no one to be pushed around. Take this memory with you and live your lives with joy."

Wiping away tears and holding back sobs, her friends and teachers recalled Ashleigh's love of music and dance, as well as her loyalty to those she loved.

"She was not just a friend, she was a sister," said close friend Nicole Paulos. "Ashleigh was a great person and all she wanted to be was a good friend."

Lucy Haines, who served as Roach's principal for six years, said Ashleigh always shined at whatever she did, whether it was playing an assortment of instruments for the band, becoming an accomplished Irish dancer or setting an example for her peers.

"She would have wanted us all to be very positive about this," Haines said as she surveyed the room of solemn, grieving teenagers. "She was always a bright light for the students. You could never find her not shining."

A fund has been established to help pay for Ashleigh's funeral expenses, rebuilding the Roach home and medical costs for Allyson, which are expected to exceed her lifetime insurance limit.

The Ashleigh Roach Family Fund is at Community National Bank in Escondido, 900 Canterbury Place, Escondido, CA 92105. For updates on Allyson's condition, visit the family's Web site at www.roachfamily.net.

Contact staff writer Erin Massey at (760) 740-5416 or emassey@nctimes.com.