Abby Bastien: The perfect person

Related: Complete coverage for the death of Abigail Bastien• Sandusky woman found dead in Baltimore• Obituary: Abigail M. Bastien• Community mourns death of Abigail Bastien• Cause of Sandusky teen's death remains a mystery• Bastien's sudden death accidental?• Local leaders offer condolences for BastienAbigail Bastien, 19, died on July 13, 2017.SANDUSKY — At 19 years old, Abigail "Abby" Bastien didn't live a long life — but she truly lived it to the fullest.As a high school student, she earned respect from her teachers with an immaculate grade-point average. She also gained admiration from other students, who elected her to class president in all four years.As an athlete, she tirelessly trained to blaze around a track faster than anyone else. Her persistence paid off, evident with the many lustrous running-related medals she won. Her crowning achievement: placing seventh during the 4x200 state competition in 2014, her sophomore year.But, as a person, Bastien shined brighter than most.Mementos of Abigail Bastien lay throughout the Kinzel Center at St. Mary's Central Catholic for a visitation on Thursday, July 20, 2017. From volunteering at Sandusky Life Teen to helping out at St. Mary's Catholic Church, she constantly sacrificed her personal time to enhance the lives of others.Her career path even involved assisting millions of people she didn't know: find a cure for cancer.Despite assisting others, Bastien somehow managed to foster countless friendships. Dozens of photos hanging on a decoratively lit bulletin board show cheerful people — no matter a teammate, date or an Alpha Phi sorority sister —flanking Bastien, who always seemed to flash her patent ear-to-ear smile in each still.Though she seemed happiest whenever photographed with her mother, Kelly Legando, father Scott Bastien and all her siblings. She routinely, in her unique affectionate tone, would exclaim "I love you" to them. In fact, it's the last three words she uttered to Legando.Pictures of Abigail Bastien throughout her life hang on decorated photo boards at the Kinzel Center in preparation for her visitation on Thursday, July 20, 2017. Bastien, a 2016 Sandusky Central Catholic Schools graduate, was loved and adored by so many.That's what made Thursday afternoon so heart-wrenching for hundreds who attended a memorial service in her honor.At the Kinzel Center, inside Sandusky Central Catholic Schools, family members, friends, classmates, former teammates and complete strangers paid their final respects to her.Community members attend the visitation of Abigail Bastien at Sandusky Central Catholic School on Thursday, July 20, 2017.Bastien unexpectedly died on July 13 in Baltimore, not far from Johns Hopkins University, where the molecular and cell biology major was preparing to enter her sophomore year.It's not known how she died. Maryland-area authorities have yet to reveal any documentation pinpointing a possible cause.The uncertainty surrounding her death only complicated matters for people trying to comprehend why such a sweet young woman, with beautiful blonde hair and a keen fashion sense, no longer breathes.Pictures of Abigail Bastien throughout her life hang on decorated photo boards at the Kinzel Center in preparation for her visitation on Thursday, July 20, 2017. Some bottled up their emotions, quietly shuffling around the gymnasium as they bounced from one table to another filled with her mementos. They ranged from her high school letterman jacket, college track uniform and a freehand portrait she created with pencils.Others expressed their grief through tears. At times, people who stood near her casket sobbed, which resonated throughout the gymnasium.One young woman, meanwhile, couldn't garner enough strength to walk inside the memorial. "I can't go in there," she shrieked outside as friends encircled and comforted her.Friends hug as they mourn the loss of Abigail Bastien at Sandusky Central Catholic School before going inside to the visitation on Thursday, July 20, 2017.But amid the bleakness of the situation, loved ones shared fond, personal memories of Bastien.A person huddled around several others somehow managed to summarize who Bastien was. "She had so many good parts about her," the person said. "She was a tremendous student. She was a great athlete. She was an even better person. You didn't have to deconstruct Abby. Together, with all of her parts, that's what made her the perfect person."Everyone else standing nearby simply smiled and agreed.Pictures of Abigail Bastien throughout her life hang on decorated photo boards at the Kinzel Center in preparation for her visitation on Thursday, July 20, 2017. Reach reporter Andy Ouriel at ouriel@sanduskyregister.com and follow him on Twitter @AndyOuriel.