In tribute to Wheaton student, residents display pink bows honoring Claire Bonga
In a poignant display of love and remembrance, Wheaton residents have placed pink bows in their yards and wrapped trees and lamp posts with pink ribbons following the death of a Wheaton high school student.
Claire Bonga, a 16-year-old sophomore at Wheaton North High School, died Thursday at a hospital one day after a car crash near West Chicago.
“Claire loved her family and friends,” said her parents, Bruce and Allison Bonga, in a statement to the Daily Herald.
“She had a bright smile, was friendly to all, loyal, caring, intentional, and hard-working. Our family is blown away by the love, prayers, and support from so many.”
Services have been set with a visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Friday in the commons of College Church in Wheaton, 332 E. Seminary Ave.
Baxter Helm, the high school pastor at College Church, will present a celebration of life at 11 a.m. Saturday at College Church, followed by a reception and burial at Wheaton Cemetery.
Bruce and Allison Bonga said hundreds of students gathered at Wheaton College’s Lawson Field the night after the crash “to worship and pray.” They added that “numerous other groups continue to lift us up in prayer.”
“We are grateful to experience the Lord's comfort and care through this precious community,” they said.
The support is visible with the posting of the ribbons in Wheaton.
“This is a well-loved family in Wheaton, and the Wheaton community has expressed themselves with these ribbons. Everyone wants to support them in any way possible,” said Tim Hultgren, owner and director of Hultgren Funeral Home in Wheaton, which is providing ribbons for residents to display in Claire’s memory.
“We all feel for them. They are so well-loved, and it’s so tragic. We want to do something to show that,” Hultgren said. “There’s hundreds of ribbons and more each day.”
Claire was born on Sept. 21, 2007, in Winfield. A dedicated student and a tennis player at Wheaton North who was part of an athletic family, she was a sister to siblings Robbie, William and Chloe.
A note in her obituary by Hultgren Funeral Home said Claire “was often credited for being the one to keep her family in line.”
She was interested in pursuing a passion for interior design and “took a special interest in teaching others,” the obituary stated.
Claire was active in Young Life and the High School Ministry of College Church, or HYACKS, her church youth group.
Donations in Claire’s honor may be made to Young Life Wheaton or College Church in Wheaton.