Friends and family of a murdered Orangeville nurse held a fundraiser in Toronto Saturday to establish a scholarship in her memory.

Dozens showed up at a high school gym near Bathurst and St. Clair for the event in honour of Sonia Varaschin.

"If she were to be here today she would be blown away by what a great event we put in her memory,” said friend and co-worker Marija Bojic. “I don't think she could have imagined how much we loved her."

Bojic helped organize dancing and zumba for the benefit, the proceeds of which will go towards a nursing scholarship in Varaschin’s name.

"She loved dancing, everything that has to do with dance,” said Varaschin’s mother Michele. “I am sure she is up there dancing too.

"It hurts in a way but it's OK. If it can help somebody it's fine.”

Police have not yet caught Varaschin’s killer, more than a year after her body was found in a wooded area in Caledon in September 2010.

The 42-year-old had been reported missing days earlier, when she didn’t show up to her job at a pharmaceutical company in Mississauga.

Her friends and family hope to raise $3,000 for the scholarship.

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