Indira Bishop died March 19 of unknown causes.
By:Sally Goldenberg
Eunice Bishop recently returned to her sales job in New York City to escape the silence of her home.
Her 16-year-old daughter, Indira Bishop, died in her sleep two weeks ago of unknown causes, leaving Ms. Bishop alone in an empty and quiet home.
Even overwhelming support from friends and family cannot stifle her pain, she said.
"It is the insupportable situation," she said.
Ms. Bishop tried to rouse Indira from her slumber at 6:15 a.m. on March 19, only to find her daughter was unresponsive.
While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Ms. Bishop performed CPR on her daughter, who was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
A preliminary autopsy showed Indira’s organs to be healthy, and a medical examiner is conducting further analysis, Ms. Bishop said.
"They’re continuing to test and analyze the data. There are no specific diagnoses that they’re focusing on. They feel it’s probably heart-related," she said.
Family and school officials remember Indira, a Brooklyn native who moved to the township six years ago, for her commitment to animal rights.
"She’d been a vegetarian since she turned 13. She loved animals of all kinds. She loved insects, bugs, just all other living creatures," Ms. Bishop said of her daughter.
Indira intended to combine her devotion to animals with her interest in fashion design to create an animal-friendly line of clothing, her mother said.
"She wanted to make her dress for her junior prom, which was going to be an ambitious project, but she really wanted to do it," Ms. Bishop added.
Indira, who took a sewing class for two years, was laid to rest in a skirt she had sewn.
"She was really just a wonderful girl creative and sweet and kind; artsy in her own way. Just really looking forward to seeing what the world had to offer her," her mother recalled. "It’s a really sad, abrupt ending for someone like that."
Indira, who hoped to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology or Parsons School of Design, was a member of the Suffer Club, an animal rights organization at Hillsborough High School, where she was a junior.
Vice Principal Ted Lebo said teachers and friends described her as "gentle, caring, quiet, compassionate, friendly."
"One of the teachers said she always gave her best effort," he added. "She was very self-composed and mature. She was a young lady, as opposed to a high school girl."
Ms. Bishop said relatives and friends outside of school regarded Indira similarly.
"She was someone with a very pure heart and pure intentions and she was just really a special person and that’s what I believe everyone’s been expressing," she said. Grief-stricken students were given the option to see a school counselor in the library the day Indira’s death was announced in the high school.
"We’ve been able to keep a handle on it pretty well," Mr. Lebo said.
The school used the library as a "safe room" for students to grieve.
"At some point in the day then they’ll end up sharing stories: ‘Remember when she did this or we did this together?’ That helps to remember the positive times rather than dwelling on the death," he added.
Funeral services for Indira were held March 21.