The flags at Hopewell Valley’s September 11th and Emergency Services Memorial are at half staff in honor of Lillian Alford, the 20-year-old Hopewell Valley Central High School (HVCHS) 2015 graduate found dead in Mercer County Park yesterday afternoon. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of her death. Foul play is not suspected.
By all accounts, Alford was a remarkable person with a generous heart. As a HVCHS student, she was one of three who organized the 2014 Pennington Day 5K Race to commemorate Maya Adrian-Hage’s life, a 10-year-old girl she knew while volunteering for Hopewell Valley’s Special Olympics teams. Besides being a volunteer for Special Olympics for many years, she also volunteered for the Union Fire Company & Rescue Squad (Titusville), Pennington First Aid Squad, and Whitehouse Station Fire Company (Hamilton).
Alford attended Marywood University in Scranton, PA, majoring in special education. While there she managed the swim team, ran track, and was involved in campus ministry.
In an email sent earlier today, Hopewell Valley YMCA CEO Doug Pszczolkowski said, “Our YMCA lost a young volunteer from our Special Olympics programs yesterday afternoon. I lost a friend. Our community lost a servant.”
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