Illinois parish mourns death of Peace Corps volunteer

Published: 2007-12-24

BLOOMINGDALE, Ill. (CNS) -- Family members and friends gathered Dec. 18 at St. Isidore Church in Bloomingdale to honor and celebrate the life of Blythe O'Sullivan. The 25-year-old Peace Corps volunteer died Dec. 6 in Suriname after she was shot accidentally. Her parents, Joan and John O'Sullivan, were joined at the funeral by fellow parishioners, relatives and friends, including Peace Corps volunteers and representatives. "It's a loss to everybody. ... A real shock," said Jodi Wygmans, a friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer, in an interview with the Catholic Explorer, Joliet diocesan newspaper, before the funeral Mass. "She lived life to the fullest. She was a shining star. She was always there with a hug," added Wygmans, 26, who now lives in Newaygo, Mich. An only child, O'Sullivan attended St. Isidore School and St. Francis High School in Wheaton. In 2004, she graduated from Bradley University in Peoria. Two years later she joined the Peace Corps, said Richard Parker, Peace Corps spokesman, in a Dec. 14 e-mail to the Explorer. The Bloomingdale native was working with villagers, in particular children, in the tropical countryside of Suriname, a country in the northern part of South America, he said.

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