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Tamara O'Neal's family met at her parents' home on Tuesday. More than a dozen members of his extended family were present – aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews.
A recap of the tragedy – in which O'Neal, killed by O'Neal's ex-fiancé, who died in a shootout – was broadcast on local television.
His parents could only watch.
They had lost a girl, a woman who, at age 38, had found her way as a room doctor.
When she was not working, she loved two nieces and two nephews who called her Titi Tami. She often took them to the Museum of Science and Industry or the Shedd Aquarium. She pursued medicine because she wanted to help others.
But it is his relationship with Juan Lopez that will lead to a violent end.
As late as October, they were engaged and the wedding date was fast approaching. But her sister, Vickie O'Neal, had broken up the conflict just weeks before vying with Lopez. We did not know exactly why. Lopez had a history of domestic violence. In 2014, a judge issued a restrictive order against him for his ex-wife.
Vickie O'Neal said there was no indication that Lopez had ever been violent in the relationship.
"It was a total surprise for us," said O. Neal's father, Thomas. "We knew that there was a disconnect there, but nothing of that magnitude. We did not expect that.
When they learned that it was Lopez who shot O'Neal, "it just knocked us down," said his father.
On Tuesday, the family was reluctant to talk about Lopez.
"The only thing I can say for that: she broke the engagement; he could not recover, "O'Neal said.
The family spoke at length about his love for a girl who had found her in life as a doctor in the emergency room.
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She enrolled at Purdue University to study the psychology of the child. During her stay, she was in a laboratory where she held a human brain, said her father. It was her decisive moment, when it appeared that she wanted to go to medical school, he said.
After obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree from Purdue, she enrolled in the summer of 2007 in a certificate program at Southern Illinois University, a program designed to give students the necessary courses at medical school.
It took almost two years to complete the program and in the spring of 2009, she enrolled at the University of Illinois Medical School in Chicago, where she graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago. 2014. She did not waste time diving into what she liked. Her first job, which lasted nearly a year before she moved to Mercy, was an emergency doctor at Franciscan Health in Michigan City, Ind.
For Trevonne Thompson, an associate professor of emergency medicine and medical toxicology at the University of Illinois, the news of O'Neal's gun death has been particularly devastating. O'Neal had a brilliant mind and a deep desire to help others, he said.
"Since she was a medical student, she has been a great person," said Thompson, a counselor at O & # 39; Neal, who has known her since 2010. "She has always wanted to join and help others. whether it's one of his patients or another medical student.
O'Neal did not have the usual way to go to medical school and came in as an older, more mature student, Thompson said. She was distinguished from other students because not only was she focused and disciplined, but she also chose emergency care to reach the most vulnerable patients, he said.
So when Thompson learned that there had been a shootout on Mercy, the first thing he did was send an SMS to his former student whom he had stayed so close to. Normally, she responds immediately. When he did not hear back, Thompson said he was beginning to worry.
"Part of his decision to go into this area was due to the fact that many people are underserved and that emergency care is their last resort," he said. "She felt that emergency care was where she had the most to offer to underserved communities."
As a black medical student, O & # 39; Neal's mission is to build relationships with other African-American students so that they can support each other while at the same time. Along with the notoriously grueling learning process, said Dr. Breana Taylor, a researcher in vascular neurology at the University of Washington. School of Medicine who attended the medical school with O & # 39; Neal.
The summer before he entered school, O'Neal brought together about seven other black students and told them they would succeed together.
"She made sure everyone had the notes we needed," Taylor said. "She started our study group. She will send you an SMS to wish you good luck. She was a source of continued encouragement at a time when life seemed difficult. "
O'Neal's group started being called "OHQ" for a renouncer – which means that members have dedicated themselves to passing each exam once and succeeding in the first round. It meant that they would study together, train and interrogate each other to avoid failures in their group, Taylor explained.
"Tamara enjoyed keeping us all together and doing everything she could to help us succeed," Taylor said. "She organized us and that is the link that allowed us to go through. She was the one who was calling randomly to check on you. She was the person who became the leader of the group. "
O'Neal also had the courage to deal with traumatic injuries, said his father. It was "bad gear," he said. "She sent us photos or tried to tell us stories all the time."
Whenever O'Neal saw a patient in the emergency room, she asked him about the dangers at home, including domestic violence. This is one of the questions that doctors ask patients during the triage process, said Dr. Patrick Connor, director of the Mercy Emergency Department.
O'Neal's deadly shooting reminded doctors that the people they treat face the same challenges, Connor said after a press conference held Tuesday outside Mercy Hospital. Domestic violence can affect anyone, can happen anywhere. Even in a place designed to provide care, he said.
Like many other interviewees, he focused his comments on the exceptional qualities of O'Neal.
"If I was going to collapse now and she was there, she was the person with whom I would like to take care of myself," he said.
He stopped to take out his phone. Just hours before O. Neal was killed, she took a selfie with a colleague. The two sunbeams, the photo was probably O'Neal's last photo taken, said Connor. "She's who she was," he said, pointing to the picture. An absolutely sparkling and fantastic personality.
Thanks to her professional success, she has never lost sight of her family.
Second of three children, she traveled every week from her apartment in Chicago to the Christian Fellowship Worship Center in LaPorte, Indiana, where her older brother, Shawn, was a pastor. She led the choir for about a year and a half, he said.
His sister could sing and play the piano, he said. She was often a perfectionist who demanded excellence but was an open minded and joyful.
She and her younger sister loved family reunions. The organizers often held contests like those that could decorate their Christmas tree as soon as possible, said his sister-in-law Jennifer O'Neal.
Or who cooked the best dessert that was eaten the fastest, his specialty was the crab rangoon and spicy cabbage, said his family.
"She was the pride of our family," her uncle, Anthony Bean Sr., said on the phone. "She was the only doctor in our family, I think she knew it and that was part of her motivation, also every day."
Beane, basketball assistant coach of the Southern Illinois University men's basketball team, fondly remembers O'Neal stopping at his hotel when he came to play against the UES while he was a coach at Illinois State. She attended the medical preparation program and stopped after her evening classes. They talked and laughed late at night.
"It was so refreshing because I knew that she was on the right track to succeed," he said. "I would never have thought that this period would end so quickly."
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