<strong>Who: </strong>Crystal Dewberry of Cambridge, Mass., formerly of Kansas City, Kan.</p><p><strong>How and when died: </strong>Of an apparent heart attack on Sept. 15</p><p><strong>Age: </strong>36</p><p><strong>Serious young lady: </strong>Crystal was born in Kansas City but grew up in Kansas City, Kan., with one younger brother. Crystal&rsquo;s mother, Patricia Dewberry, said her daughter was a very serious person. Crystal also enjoyed being around children and older adults.</p><p>&ldquo;She was always mothering, instructing and teaching,&rdquo; Patricia said. &ldquo;She was mature beyond her years.&rdquo;</p><p>Crystal was active at Pleasant Green Baptist Church.</p><p>&ldquo;One of the highlights of her young life was babysitting for the minister&rsquo;s son,&rdquo; her mother said. &ldquo;I allowed her at a young age to go to prayer conferences with our church.&rdquo;</p><p>Crystal approached school with the same sense of seriousness and intensity. She attended Sumner Academy, where she took three languages &mdash; French, Spanish and Latin. In her junior year, she studied for one semester at the University of Paris.</p><p>Although she was a serious student, Crystal knew when to have fun, said longtime friend Michelle Walton.</p><p>&ldquo;As a person she was very funny and lighthearted,&rdquo; Michelle said. &ldquo;If she could laugh at something, she would.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>The working world: </strong>After high school, Crystal attended Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, earning a degree in economics. Upon graduation, she moved to New York City, where she worked as a program developer and grant writer for the Harlem Children&rsquo;s Zone and later as a marketing manager for American Express. She even went out on her own for a while.</p><p>&ldquo;She had started her own company called Beyond Ambition, teaching managers how to set goals and develop leadership skills,&rdquo; her mother said.</p><p>In 2008, Crystal moved to Cambridge, Mass., to become assistant marketing director for the Harvard School of Business.</p><p>&ldquo;She was a very serious-minded person,&rdquo; her mother said. &ldquo;And her actions transferred to her brother.&rdquo;</p><p><strong>Special sister, friend: </strong>Crystal&rsquo;s brother Leonard was five years younger and looked up to his sister.</p><p>&ldquo;She was very savvy. She knew how to do things,&rdquo; Leonard said. &ldquo;She was special for her passion for being a professional and her giving ways.&rdquo;</p><p>There were fun times, too.</p><p>&ldquo;We&rsquo;d always imitate people in the movies,&rdquo; Leonard said. &ldquo;I will miss someone to share information with.&ensp;&hellip; She was always there for me.&rdquo;</p><p>Michelle first connected with Crystal when the two attended preschool together at Kiddie Kollege in Kansas City, Kan. Over the years their friendship grew, although Michelle said the women were opposites.</p><p>&ldquo;She was like an old soul and I was forever young,&rdquo; Michelle said. &ldquo;She had maturity beyond her years.&ensp;&hellip;I think in our friendship we were each other&rsquo;s yin and yang. We just connected.&rdquo;</p><p>Michelle said Crystal had a &ldquo;brilliance&rdquo; about her.</p><p>&ldquo;She had an encompassing understanding of things,&rdquo; Michelle said.</p><p><strong>Survivors include: </strong>Her mother, her father, a brother, a grandmother and a grandfather.</p><p><strong>The last word: </strong>Her mother said Crystal&rsquo;s favorite passage from the New Testament captured her daughter&rsquo;s essence:</p><p>&ldquo;Let no man despise thy youth but be an example of the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith and in purity.&rdquo;