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Friends, family of Carly Glynn remember her life

February 13, 2012

Ever since he gave Carly Glynn her first kiss in high school, political science junior Christian Suero has considered her his best friend.

It was something about her smile, her intelligence and the way they would always click, even after the transition from high school to college, that made Suero realize how special she was.

“She was studious, she was outgoing (and) she was very attractive,” Suero said. “She was almost the perfect girl.”

Glynn, a 19-year-old family community services sophomore from Wyoming, Mich., died unexpectedly early Friday morning after friends took her to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing for flu-like symptoms.

Health officials believe the cause of death could be a bacterial infection, potentially meningococcal disease.

After meeting Glynn early her freshman year, communication sophomore Johanna Jelenek said they quickly became friends and eventually were roommates in Snyder Hall. Jelenek said they spent nearly every day together up until she and a few friends took Glynn to the hospital Thursday night.

“She probably knows every single thing about me — I have no secrets from her,” Jelenek said. “I would pretty much consider her the sister I never had.”

The little moments and interactions with Glynn will be what Jelenek misses the most. She remembered a time when Glynn tried to do laundry and accidentally put her clothes, soap and all, into the dryer first.

“She was too embarrassed to finish it, and she came back into the room,” Jelenek said. “White soap specks were everywhere. … Little things like that showed her goofy and funny personality.”

Glynn’s intelligence and sparkling personality could brighten anyone’s day and make anyone feel comfortable, her friend and media arts and technology junior Chris Huffman said.

“We could talk to each other about anything and not feel like either of us were being judged,” Huffman said. “She could turn any bad day I was having into a great day.”

Pursuing a career as a speech pathologist, Glynn spent time volunteering with children throughout high school and college and drew inspiration from working with them, said Benjamin Glynn, Carly Glynn’s brother and an MSU alumnus.

Benjamin Glynn said he never doubted his younger sister would do great things.

“She showed so much promise and so much potential,” he said. “I was really looking forward to seeing what she would do.”

Although Benjamin Glynn worked in Lansing while Carly Glynn was in school, he didn’t see her as much as he would have liked.

“We didn’t really see each other, and that’s hard — you look back and you wish you’d spent more time,” Benjamin Glynn said. “If there was anything else I could say to her, it would just be, ‘I love you.’”

Many of Carly Glynn’s friends and acquaintances met at the rock on Farm Lane Sunday night to paint the rock and hold a candlelight vigil in her memory.

Carly Glynn’s family will receive relatives and friends from 4-7 p.m. Monday at Cook Memorial Chapel, 4235 Prairie St. in Grandville, Mich.

Her funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 720 Second St., in Traverse City, Mich.

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