They were laid to rest the same way they died — together.

One of the mothers murdered by drug cartel gunmen in Mexico was buried in a large grave beside her two sons in the first of three funerals Thursday.

Residents of the tiny hamlet of La Mora in Sonora state built pine coffins by hand to hold the remains of Dawna Ray Langford and her kids, Trevor, 11, and Rogan, 2.

As many as 1,000 mourners, some from as far away as Utah, flooded the area for the funerals on Thursday and Friday under the watchful eye of Mexican army troops.

Men and a boy helped prepare the soil in a small cemetery in the town located 70 miles south of the Arizona border. La Mora residents consider themselves Mormon but are not affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Rhonita Marie Miller and her own four slain children — 8-month-old twins Titus Alvin Miller and Tiana Gricel Miller; Krystal Bellaine Miller, 10; and Howard Jacob Miller, 12 — will also be laid to rest Thursday, while the funeral for a third mom, Christina Johnson, will be held Friday in the neighboring community of Colonia LeBaron, according to the Arizona Republic.

The nine relatives were gunned down in three separate SUVs Monday by drug cartels in a possible case of mistaken identity.

With Post wires

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