Girl who died after eating peanut snack at camp is remembered

Hundreds of mourners on Thursday remembered 13-year-old Natalie Giorgi, who died after eating a peanut-coated snack at a camp in Sacramento.

“Natalie was such a vibrant young lady who loved being around family and friends … who just had a zest for living,� said her uncle Tim McGuire, a general in the U.S. Army.

Natalie accidentally bit into peanut-coated snack at the camp. She was highly allergic to peanuts.

One teacher remembers a child who wasn’t the best athlete but had the best attitude.

“Natalie was amazing. She just was always cheerful, never complained,� said Phillip Tateishi.

“Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus, his friend … and emotion even annoyance, anger is appropriate. To ask why, why … but somehow to work through that. God willing they will continue to do that,� said Father Michael Kiernan of Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Carmichael.

The community is trying to help the Girogi family work through their pain with purpose — stressing to everyone that helping children with these allergies isn’t an inconvenience, it’s a matter of life and death.

“My sister, her husband and Natalie [were] ever-vigilant about what Natalie ate. And if it happens to Natalie, children throughout the country at risk,� McGuire said.

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