Maria Fernandes, who died Monday in her vehicle parked in a lot in Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH — Maria Fernandes carved out her own lifestyle, working at Dunkin Donuts shops in Harrison, Newark and Linden, often sleeping in her car between work shifts. She never earned much, but she always had money to give others, friends said today.

"She helped me out when I was going through some tough times. She gave me money," said Bruce Jirinec of Linden, who often hung out with Fernandes when she worked the overnight shift at Dunkin Donuts in Linden.

Late Tuesday night, after hearing that the 32-year-old Fernandes had died while sleeping in her 2001 Kia Sportage in a parking lot in Elizabeth, Jirinec and a friend etched a chalk memorial to her in a parking space just outside the front door of the shop. Manager Sophia Paches blocked off the parking space to preserve the drawings.

"It's so sad. Nobody here can believe it," Paches said. She said Fernandes sometimes finished work at 6 a.m. and would sleep a couple hours in her car in the parking lot outside the Wood Avenue shop before going to a shift at another store.

On Monday, Fernandes pulled into a Wawa parking lot behind an AutoZone store off Routes 1 & 9 in Elizabeth about 8:30 a.m. and went to sleep. She was found dead in the 2001 Kia Sportage about eight hours later, overcome by fumes, police said.

Fernandes had the Sportage less than a year, and the vehicle was often in for repairs, according to her longtime friend and former boyfriend, Richard Culhane. He said a mechanic who repaired the engine earlier this month had discovered a problem in an exhaust valve.

Culhane said he met Fernandes over the internet and the two were close for about three years, with Fernandes even helping to care for Culhane's three children.

"If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have custody of my kids," he said, referring to difficulties he had with the children's mother.

Culhane and others spoke of Fernandes' generous acts, such as the time she gave a homeless person a tent and sleeping bag.

Armando Gonzalez, who worked with Fernandes in the Harrison Dunkin Donuts, recalled how Fernandes would scoop up any food that fell, and save it to feed the birds after work. She did the same thing with leftover bagels from the Linden store, Paches said.

Despite her long work hours, Fernandes cared for a dog and three cats, stray animals that she took in as her own, Culhane said.

Each June, Fernandes scraped the money together for a week-long trip to California, to attend a festival of her favorite musical artist, Michael Jackson.

Culhane said Fernandes was born in Massachusetts. Her parents were from Portugal, and they returned there when Fernandes was about 9. She came back to the United States about 14 years ago, staying in the home of a family friend and attending school in Harrison, Culhane said.

He said Fernandes spoke four languages and was learning a fifth. "I told she could get a better job, but she said she didn't want to work in an office," he recalled.

Fernandes had worked at the Linden Dunkin Donuts for four years, and used buses and trains to get around before getting the car. Regardless of the weather, she always came to work. Sometimes she called to say she would be late, Paches recalled.

Paches said Monday was the first night Fernandes did not come into work, and did not answer calls to her phone.