Letter from the Family of Lu Lingzi

Editor's note: A memorial service for Lu Lingzi will be held on Monday, April 22, at 7 p.m. in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Ballroom beginning at 7 p.m. The service is open to the public, but seating is limited and will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

We are grieving and at a loss for words to describe the pain and sadness we are experiencing following the sudden passing of our dear daughter, Lingzi. She was the joy of our lives. She was a bright and wonderful child. We were thrilled to watch her grow into an intelligent and beautiful young woman. She was a positive role model for many others.

It has always been her dream to come to America to study. While she was here, she fell in love with Boston and its people. She loved her new friends and her professors at Boston University. She wanted to play a role in international business, specializing in applied mathematics. She has been studying very hard toward her goal. Sadly, it was not to be.

While her dream has not been realized, we want to encourage others who have Lingzi’s ambition and dreams, and want to make the world a better place, to continue moving forward.

We are grateful and thankful for the assistance we have received from the Chinese government, the U.S. State Department, Boston Police Department, Boston University, and so many others. Your kindness will always be in our thoughts and memories of how you reached out selflessly to us during the darkest hour of our lives. We understand the work of the media, too, and ask them to please respect our wish for privacy at this difficult time.

We are also humbled by the compassion, caring and love we have received from people all over the world. We wish to thank each of you for your prayers and for thinking of our daughter. Thank you for sharing your memories of her, your love for her, and your good wishes to our family.

Also, we wish to extend our thoughts, prayers and sympathy to the other victims of this tragedy and to their families.

We hope that everyone who knew Lingzi, and experienced the positive spirit and joy she had, will help carry on her spirit. We hope that everyone who has now heard about Lingzi will keep a memory of her in their hearts.

This statement was issued by the family of Lu Lingzi, who was killed in the Boston Marathon bombings on April 15.