Former Thomaston resident who died in tsunami mourned

BOULDER, Colo. – About 200 friends and family members gathered Sunday to share memories of Kelly Ann Hillgrove, an energetic humanitarian, college student and globe-trotter who was killed in Sri Lanka by last week’s cataclysmic tsunami.

“She was a rare combination of an old soul with the heart of a child,” said Adrienne Anderson, a former professor of Hillgrove’s at the University of Colorado. “She was a force of nature much bigger than the tsunami.”

Hillgrove, 35, was vacationing in Sri Lanka with her fiance, Nasser Zouaoui. They were having breakfast when the tsunami hit, said her brother, Robert Hillgrove of Broomfield.

The couple were separated. Zouaoui survived, but two hours later he found her body in 5 feet of water, touching the hand of a 2-year-old victim.

Kelly Ann Hillgrove was a Maine native who grew up in Thomaston before her family moved to Colorado 20 years ago. Her family said she will be buried in Maine on Wednesday.

She worked full time as a hairstylist while majoring in ethnic studies at CU. She also volunteered for the Boulder County AIDS Project, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Navajo Nation and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Mourners urged each other to carry on her work by volunteering, donating and learning about other cultures, and by not forgetting the other victims.

“What you have to do now is act on Kelly’s behalf,” said Karen Auvinen, one of Hillgrove’s friends and former teachers.

The death toll is expected to hit 150,000 in southern Asia and East Africa from the massive earthquake and the tsunamis that hit 11 countries.

While friends and relatives spoke, a big screen showed photos of Hillgrove snorkeling, riding a camel and traveling the world.

The university announced she had been awarded her bachelor’s degree posthumously.