Obituary

(New York Times)1


Jill Henglein passed away on Saturday April 19, 2008 after a hit and run incident with an ice cream truck.  It was her 29th birthday. She was born in Rockaway Beach New York in 1979 to Cynthia Rose Reilly and her first husband Juan Perez. She grew up in Far Rockaway until the age of 7 when her parents got divorced, which is when she moved to Broad Channel, which is an all white, hick suburb in the middle of Queens New York.2

Jill graduated from Saint Francis Preparatory School in 1997. She attended Queens College for 3 semesters before decided that she absolutely hated it there. She went on to attend business school where she recieved certification and pursued a job at the well known Cochran Firm in New York City. She had recently gone back to school to obtain a degree in teaching which is a dream she had from her youth.

When not working, Jill could often be found sitting in her room reading with Punk rock playing loudly in the background. Having grown up during the 1980's severely impacted her decision making skills thoughout life, and something she never quite forgave her mother for.3

Once at the age of 18 she saved a man who thought swimming drunk was a good idea. She received little credit for this act of heroism. 4

At age 26 Jill got married to her High School sweetheart. They spent a little over one year together before he was taken from her in a horrific accident. She never fully healed from heartbreak of her first love. Charles Loch a close friend was heard saying "Jill will be happy now. She's with the only person that made her whole."5

 
Jill was a loyal and devoted person. We received the following comment from her closest, dearest and oldest friend Brittany Mazzatto, "in a world full of people with their own agendas, its refreshing to know someone who is so loyal to the things and people that mean a lot to her." 6

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