Cheryl (Lynn) Silvonek was a bubbly, happy teenager who cheered the Jim Thorpe Area School District Olympians.

After graduating with the Class of 1978, she studied at Lehigh Carbon Community College, and worked at the Switchback Medical Center in Jim Thorpe, according to friends.

Staff there on Tuesday were too devastated to talk with a reporter, following news their friend died March 15 in Upper Macungie Township, allegedly at the hands of her 14-year-old daughter's boyfriend, Caleb Barnes, 20, a U.S Army Specialist 4 from Fort Meade, Md.

She was an "absolutely sweet girl in Jim Thorpe High School where she was a fellow cheerleader," said Suzie McLean, who was in the same class as Silvonek's brother, Clark Lynn.

"[She] always was kind, with an infectious smile," McLean said. "So sad. Our prayers are with her and her loved ones."

Cheryl married David Silvonek and later began working as a medical secretary for Lehigh Valley Health Network.

LVHN spokesman Brian Downs released a statement on her death.

"We are deeply saddened. We have lost one of our Lehigh Valley Health Network colleagues with the tragic passing of Cheryl Silvonek," Downs said. "We express our deepest sympathy to Cheryl's family, colleagues and friends and want them to know they are in our thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."

Former classmate Geralyn Scarpati of Jim Thorpe said as teenagers, she and Cheryl hung out together in Jim Thorpe.

"She was such an all around fun girl. Everybody was her friend," Scarpati said. "She had such a sparkling smile.

"She was also so happy-go-lucky. She was so nice to everybody, and had so many friends. She was a cheerleader, so full of Olympian spirit."