Gwen Casten.Photo: VoteCasten/Twitter
Illinois Rep. Sean Casten has spoken about his 17-year-old daughter’s death for the first time.
In a heartbreaking Instagram post shared on Wednesday, the Congressman, who was elected in 2018, shared a photo of Gwen Casten,who died on Tuesday.
“There are no words to describe the hole in your heart when a child dies. Gwen was a happy, healthy, well-adjusted young woman,” the statementbegan, adding that Gwen planned to study Environmental Science at the University of Vermont this fall.
While attending Downers Grove North High School, Gwen exercised her passion for “music and activism” as she played the trumpet for the school’s jazz band, the wind ensemble and the pit orchestra for the school’s rendition ofMary Poppins.
Continued the family: “She had the good fortune to have a community of good friends, teachers and family and the good wisdom to realize how much she owed them. If her light seemed a bit brighter than most it was because she was so generous in reflecting back the light and love that so many gave to her.”
Sean Casten.Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock
Remembering their final moments with Gwen, the family shared that they enjoyed dinner Sunday night before Gwen left to hang out with friends.
“When she got home, she said goodnight to Kara and I, texted a friend to make sure she got home OK, and didn’t wake up on Monday morning,” they shared. “The only thing we know about her death is that it was peaceful. And the only lesson we can take from that is to savor the moments you have with your loved ones.”
They said, “We want purpose. We want to believe in a brighter tomorrow. But the only thing we can control is our present.”
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Ending with a note of thanks for their supporters, the family said that they are “grateful to all who have reached out with thoughts, condolences and help. To all asking what they can do, we ask only that you live your lives as Gwen lived hers. Savor the moments. Use every ounce of energy you have to ensure a better, more tolerant, more generous, more loving tomorrow. Not because you know that your tomorrow will come, but because you know that someone else’s will. Lead with Love.”
The Chicago-Tribunepreviously reported that Downers Grove police said they were called to a home in the area Monday, “for an unresponsive seventeen year old female,” where “first responders determined that the subject was deceased.”
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A tweet from the congressman’s office confirming her death read, “This morning, Congressman Casten’s beloved daughter, Gwen (17), passed away. The Casten family requests privacy, and we will be issuing no further comment during this heartbreaking time.”
source: people.com
