Community Says Farewell to Elizabeth Lynch-Gonzalez

What was in Army Pvt. Elizabeth Lynch-Gonzalez's mind when she jumped off the Tappan Zee Bridge to her death, no one would know. But those who gathered to mourn her at the Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Shrub Oak will remember her as funny, generous and outgoing.

"Only God knows what was in her mind," said the Rev. S Kulandairajan, also known as Fr. Rajan, during the funeral Mass on Thursday. "We don't know. Maybe to us she was too sensitive. Maybe there was pain or disturbance that she could not bear."

Fellow Army soldiers carried her flag-draped casket in and out of the church.

"She had the ability to make people laugh, which is hard to do in that environment. It's a very stressful environment," said Charlotte Reilley, Lynch-Gonzalez's basic training drill sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.

Her parents Mary Ellen Lynch and Manuel Gonzalez followed along with her brothers Manny and Army Pvt. William "Nick' who returned from duty in Iraq for his sister's burial.

Former classmates, teachers, friends, and family were in attendance.

Kulandairajan assured them that God was there with Elizabeth during her final moments. He also encouraged those in attendance at the crowded church to keep in touch with God, their parents, and share their feelings.

"There is always an answer to a problem," he said. "Life is beautiful. Life is worth living."

Lynch-Gonzalez leapt to her death in the early morning hours of June 10 after learning her assignment date was moved up two weeks from June 24 and she was due to ship to Fort Bliss, Texas the same day she died. Elizabeth was a 2009 Lakeland graduate who enrolled in the Army and completed basic training and graduated from police training.

Three women from Rockland County said they talked to Elizabeth over the railings and tried to stop her. Thelma Latta, Sharon Seward and her sister Laurie Seward pleaded with Elizabeth, whom they said was in fear and asked the women to relay a message to her family.

"To my family, tell them I love them and I'll be alright," Elizabeth said to the women.

But the women said Elizabeth wasn't ready to jump. They had informed authorities that there was a jumper on the bridge and needed someone to come fast, Steward said. Then two toll workers, flashing their lights, yelled at them to get off the bridge.

"I don't know if she slipped, I saw her arm go back," Sharon Steward said. "If it wasn't for the toll men…"

Friends of Elizabeth hugged the three women who tried to save her life and cried on their shoulders.

"Thank you for trying," Lesley Echeverria said. "You are wonderful people."

"That was my best friend," said Angela Billups, who graduated with Elizabeth in 2009. "She was the sweetest thing. Everything she did was memorable. She was one of a kind. No one will ever replace her."