By RUSTY DENNEN

It has been four months since Stephanie Lamar got the terrible news that her beloved husband, Donald, a young Marine, had been killed in Afghanistan.

While the grief and the memories live on--flooding her waking days as well as her dreams--she says she is finding ways to rebuild her life while keeping Donald's memory alive.

"The worst time is when I'm at school, or by myself, picking up my daughter. That's when I break down," she said last week after a hectic day of her new routine of classes at Germanna Community College and caring for 3-year-old Madison.

"Sometimes I hear a song played, or I go by one of his favorite restaurants " she said, her voice trailing off.

Her answering machine plays "I Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum: It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now

For her, that's another way to remember the former Stafford High School classmate who became her sweetheart, soul mate and best friend. They married in 2009.

"I needed him, and I still need him," she said.

She set up a room in her house dedicated to his memory.

"I decided a few months ago that I want to make the best of the situation that was laid in front of me on my birthday this year."

Namely, she wants Donald to be remembered while she rebuilds her life with help from family, friends and supporters, many of whom she has never met.

She decided early on to create a charitable foundation in her husband's name.

The Sgt. Donald J. Lamar Foundation "is to remember and show appreciation to some of our American heroes," she said.

"Donald loved his fellow military brothers and sisters and would do absolutely anything for them. I want to keep his spirit alive by showing people someone still cares and has not forgotten anything they have done."

A golf tournament will be held Oct. 23 at Cannon Ridge Golf Club in Stafford County to raise money for the foundation. That will fund two college scholarships to be given annually, in sports that Lamar loved.