What started off as a typical evening in a small Italian town full of friendliness and laughing turned into a tragedy that shocked a congressman’s family and had an impact on the entire country.

Just minutes after having dinner and laughing with friends in Assisi, Italy, Molly McGovern, the 23-year-old daughter of Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern, passed very suddenly on April 23.

Molly surpassed expectations after receiving a rare cancer diagnosis five and a half years ago, just after her eighteenth birthday. She travelled from her hometown of Worcester to cities all over the world, managing demanding treatments but yet living life to the fullest.

She travelled around the United States, Australia, Italy, and most recently, on Easter Sunday, Rome. She died three days later in Assisi, which was very important to her and her family.

Friends describe Molly as someone who carried empathy, curiosity, and a mischievous sense of humor wherever she went. “Anytime you were with Molly McGovern you knew you were going to have a good time,” said Kathleen Gearan, one of the sisters Molly lived with in Newton.

The same energy that had characterised her life was evident in her last moments. Her family claims that shortly after Molly’s stories filled the room with laughter after supper, she suddenly felt sick.