Updated April 16

Lilly Kate Christopher, a sophomore journalism major, passed away on April 6. 

Christopher, 20, died with family by her side at a local hospital, according to a campuswide email from President M. Lee Pelton.  

Paul Niwa, the interim chair of the journalism department, wrote in an email to journalism students that Christopher was a “treasured member of the community.” 

“Many of you may have known her as a friend, a classmate and a curious explorer of counterculture,” he wrote. “We all wish we had the opportunity to spend more time with Lilly and to help her accomplish her aspirations.” 

Christopher was a correspondent for the Berkeley Beacon, contributing several photos for the arts and lifestyle sections last semester. Prior to transferring to Emerson in September, she was a student at Lesley University in Cambridge, according to her Facebook, and a graduate of Bridgewater Raynham High School in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. 

Pelton wrote that services from Counseling and Psychological Services and the Office of Spiritual Life are available for students who need them. 

“Please keep Lilly’s family in your thoughts during this very difficult time,” he wrote. 

Visiting hours begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, and a funeral service will start at 2 p.m. at the Prophett-Chapman Cole & Gleason Funeral Home in Bridgewater. In lieu of flowers, the Christopher family asks that donations be made in Lilly’s name to the Trustees of Reservations, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit focused on land preservation.