30-year-old Lorin Maurer was a fundraiser coordinator for Princeton's athletic department. She was dating a basketball coach from Indiana, and was flying to Buffalo to meet his extended family for the first time at the wedding of her boyfriend's brother.
Friends say she was excited about the trip, fussing over what to wear, and had to rush to catch her flight.
"A profound sense of sadness, grief, loss," said Princeton Athletic Director Gary Walters.
"Everybody's stunned. I mean, it's a 30-year-old woman who was here yesterday in a department meeting, gets on a plane, and then she's gone," said Communications Director Jerry Price. "You can't even begin to explain it or understand it."
Maurer's office is filled with pictures and memoribilia. She is remembered by friends as a spunky, motivated, generous woman.
"The good thing is she was going to be with a man she was totally in love with," said colleague Tara Christie Kinsey. "So, she was flying to love. That's a good thing."
"She was a wonderful friend and a loving person and cannot be replaced," said colleague Kellie Staples.
Maurer loved collegiate sports, and was herself an academic All-American at Rowan University.
A small memorial was held on campus Friday for friends and colleagues, and a larger one is planned for the future.
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