A funeral service will soon be scheduled in Seattle for Jill St. Onge, a 27-year-old resident of Pigeon Point, died on May 2 while vacationing in Thailand. The Thai government conducted an autopsy after doctors suspected poisoning.

St. Onge had been touring Asia for three months with her fiancé Ryan Kells when the two decided to move into a room with air conditioning on Phi Phi island. Both St. Onge and Kells became ill that evening, frequently vomiting.

Kells initially suspected food poisoning from burgers he had bought earlier, but when his fiancé started looking worse, he rushed her to the local hospital. St. Onge died before they arrived.

The following night, another tourist, a 22-year-old woman from Norway, also died after staying in the same room.

St. Onge’s family is trying to draw attention to the situation so that the Thai government does not “brush it under the table,” as Jill’s brother Rob said.

He fears that Thailand will claim that Jill’s death was the result of drinking to protect the country’s tourism, which Kells says was not the case.

The family has requested blood and tissue samples to conduct an independent investigation into St. Onge’s death.

“Ryan knows firsthand how corrupt they are, so that is a huge concern,” said Rob.

St. Onge was originally from Oakhurst, Cali. but moved to Seattle to earn an Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree from the University of Washington in 2005. She was an artist with many different skills including painting, silkscreen designing and tattoo art.

St. Onge was also an employee at the Shadowland lounge in the Alaska Junction.

“She was a very vibrant person,” said Brooke Freed, a close friend of St. Onge. “She had lots of friends in West Seattle who loved her."

“She was just so amazing,” said Rob St. Onge. “There’s no one like her. She influenced everyone she met so, in that way, she’s still with us.”

St. Onge was cremated in Thailand, as recommended by the State Department to her family. Kells returned from Thailand and delivered his fiance's ashes to her mother on Saturday, May 9.

“(Our family is) dealing with it horribly,” said Rob. “This is the most difficult thing any of us have ever been through.”

Memorial services are being planned in both Seattle and St. Onge’s hometown.

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