Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour remembered at memorial service in Sayreville
SAYREVILLE, N.J. - Friends, family and political leaders gathered Wednesday to remember a New Jersey councilwoman who was gunned down in her SUV outside her home in Sayreville last week.
Inside Epic Church International, there was a tribute to Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour, a rising star in the Republican party whose life was cut short at the age of 30.
"Eunice was the first African American to take office in the borough of Sayreville," Sayreville Mayor Victoria Kilpatrick said.
Friends and colleagues described a woman who dedicated her life to others as the pastor of her Newark church and a public servant.
"Eunice broke through that glass ceiling. She confidently, with class and dignity, walked proudly to her seat on the dais in her signature sparkling high heels," Kilpatrick said.
READ MORE: New Jersey police, FBI investigating apparent murder of Sayreville Councilwoman Eunice Dwumfour
Dwumfour, the mother of a 12-year-old girl, had recently gotten married to Pastor Eze Kings in Nigeria.
At the memorial, her family was devastated, holding back tears, trying to make sense of the tragedy.
"It's been very challenging and very unsettling," Sayreville Councilman Christian Onuoha said.
"There is not a broken heart in the state of New Jersey ... Everyone is grieving and mourning for this loss of life," New Jersey Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver said.
"And all of us are left with one haunting question: why?" Assemblyman Craig Coughlin said.
"Talking about her, I am still shaking in my core. We don't know what to do. We've lost a mother, a wife, a daughter," family friend Esther Oppong said.
Friends say the councilwoman's legacy is her selflessness, whether it was working as an EMT or serving the public.
No arrests have been made in Dwumfour's murder.
