Family, friends and colleagues are remembering the remarkable life of a young St. Louis woman who just started working at the Jewish Federation of St. Louis this year.

St. Louis police say Katherine Coen, 33, was tragically killed in a weather-related accident on Saturday, July 2, after a tree fell on her car along Manchester and Chouteau avenues in the Grove neighborhood. Police say she was in the car waiting for the storm to pass.

Coen joined the staff at Federation in February as a resource assistant on the development team. And while she only worked at the Federation for five months, it’s clear she had a huge impact on her colleagues through her work and her personality.

Here’s what several of them had to say:

“It was clear from that first day that Kate was special. In her role, Kate made sure everyone and everything was taken care of. At events, she welcomed guests with the largest smile, making friends with everyone she met. Being Kate’s supervisor, her colleague and her friend have been a true joy. Although we only had the pleasure of knowing Kate for a few short months, her impact on Federation, our staff, and the community will be everlasting.” — Amy Bornstein, senior director of Transformational Giving and Coen’s supervisor

“Every day working with Kate was unique. She approached every moment as an opportunity to spread joy to others and had a natural way to make everyone feel so seen and valued. Her humor, energy and spontaneity will be deeply missed.” — Jeremy Goldberg, manager of Campaign Operations & Data

“Kate was one of the funniest and kindest people I have had the privilege of working with. Her personality could, and did, light up any room. I am thankful for the time we got to spend with her and she will be greatly missed.” — Brandon Rosen, Grants Associate, Community Impact

“When Kate Coen arrived at Federation to work as a resource assistant, she quickly learned new processes and became a very strong staff member supporting the leadership team. I worked closely with Kate, which was a joyful experience. Kate had a unique way of simplifying complex processes, achieving heavy loads of work, all the while bringing smiles to everyone’s faces. I will never forget her terrific sense of humor, curiosity, fearlessness, and positive energy that she brought to our workspace.” — Lisa Magness, resource assistant

“Kate was a unique and special individual whose individualism, energy and friendliness came through from the first moment you met her. She was always the first to welcome anyone— whether she knew them or not. She seemed to effortlessly be able to make a smile appear on your face. Kate was a positive light for all of us and the world.” — Brian Herstig, President and CEO of Jewish Federation of St. Louis