Courtesy photo Jennifer "Jenna" DeAngelis, in a recent photo posted on Facebook.

MILFORD – Wherever she was and whatever she was doing – registering another strikeout for the Milford High softball team, swinging at the ball in field hockey, greeting customers at Parker’s Maple Barn, visiting her favorite animals, cows and horses, or simply hanging out with friends and family – that big, sunny smile very rarely left Jennifer C. DeAngelis’s face, everyone who knew her agreed.

Now, ever since Sunday, when the tragic news spread through town and beyond that DeAngelis, 18, had lost her life in a car crash that morning, smiles have been hard to come by for so many who were close to the young athlete and 2020 Milford High graduate.

DeAngelis, “affectionally known as Jenna,” according to family, will be remembered by friends “as a fun-loving, young woman, (while) her teammates and opponents knew her as a gritty, fierce competitor,” Milford High athletic director Marc Maurais said Tuesday.

Police continue to investigate the circumstances of the crash, which occurred at 8:30 a.m. Sunday on Route 101 between the Perry Road and Osgood Road overpasses.

Police said the 2007 Chevy Malibu DeAngelis was driving east on Route 101 left the road, rolled over and came to rest at the foot of an embankment roughly 30 feet from the edge of the road.

Police said DeAngelis was alone in the vehicle, and was pronounced deceased at the scene. No other vehicles were involved.

Born in Nashua, DeAngelis grew up in Milford, and besides her deep involvement with athletics and working at Parker’s and Crossroads Cafe in Acton, Massachusetts, she developed an “adoration of animals, especially cows and horses,” leading to her spending time at Mack Hill Farm in Amherst and another farm in Pepperell, her family wrote in an obituary posted on the Website of the Dee Funeral Home, Concord, Massachusetts, which is handling the funeral arrangements.

Visiting hours are scheduled for 5-8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home, 27 Bedford St., Concord, Massachusetts. More information can be found on the funeral home’s Website.

Meanwhile, Maurais, who described not only the school community, but the community at large, as stunned and saddened over the sudden loss of the gregarious young woman, said DeAngelis “showcased her talents at Milford High School as a varsity four-letter winner in field hockey, but softball was where she stood out.”

Although just a freshman, DeAngelis was named a starting pitcher for the 2017 varsity softball team, and immediately “made an impact,” Maurais said.

She helped lead Milford to its second straight Division II state championship, not only with her pitching, but her defensive play at shortstop – “which ended a bases-loaded rally to preserve” the 3-2 championship victory over Pembroke Academy.

DeAngelis “excelled as a pitcher” in her sophomore and junior years, Maurais said, noting the 33-2 record she compiled and her selection as Division II pitcher of the year.

“Coaches around the state thought so highly of her, she was nominated as a candidate for Gatorade New Hampshire Softball Player of the Year for 2020,” Maurais said, referring to the award the company created in 1985 to recognize “outstanding high school student-athletes for their athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character,” according to Gatorade’s Website.

In an effort to help DeAngelis’s family with funeral and other expenses, a GoFundMe account was set up and within two days, had raised more than $19,000, far surpassing its goal of $8,000.

Rosalyn Brasil, who is listed as the organizer of the account, called DeAngelis a “spontaneous, loving, goofy, stunning girl (who) was always open-minded and loved trying new things” in her message on the account.

“Her smile and laugh were ones that could infect a whole building,” Brasil wrote. “She danced and sang like no one was watching, and she loved her family and friends with a love like no other.”

She notes that DeAngelis’s mother, Stephanie Sutherland, is named as the beneficiary of the GoFundMe account.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.