Family prepares to bury soldier mysteriously killed in Afghanistan

Deirdre Durkin's living room is filled with photos. Next to the computer, photos of her little sister, Army National Guard Spc. Ciara Durkin, with the rest of her large family. On a table closer to the kitchen, Ciara in her First Communion dress.

Displayed in another corner, photos of Ciara as a youngster in Ireland, red-headed and freckled, alongside coffee mugs decorated with photos of her dressed in her military uniform.

As the wake and funeral Mass for Durkin approach, her family is preparing - combing through the photos, telling stories, reliving their memories of the little sister who was so full of fun, affection and kindness.

''She would give the shirt off her back,'' Deirdre Durkin said.

On Friday, Ciara Durkin, 30, was found dead of a single bullet wound to the head near a church on Bagram Air Base, the secure installation where she was stationed in Afghanistan.

Family members are clamoring for answers.

As the investigation into her mysterious death continues, they try to keep the focus not only on how she died but also on who she was while she was alive.

Deirdre Durkin remembers her sister as full of affection. One of the photos - one of the last ones taken of Ciara before she died - shows Ciara cuddling up to her big sister on a chaise lounge at their mother's house.

''I loved how open she was about expressing emotion,'' Deirdre Durkin said. '''I love yous,' cuddles, hugs - she was just so warm.''

Deirdre Durkin said that when her husband died, Ciara took on the role of protector for her and her children.

When Ciara was in Afghanistan, she would direct-deposit money from her paycheck into Deirdre's account to be allowance money for her nieces and nephew. Then she'd call up and ask if the children had made their beds or done other chores.

''It was just her way of trying to mind me and mind them - let them know they were loved,'' Deirdre said.

Ciara was born in County Galway, Ireland, the eighth of nine children, all Irish-born.

Their father, who was born in New York City, taught for years in Galway and returned to the United States with his wife and children when he retired.

He died of a heart attack several weeks after the family arrived, leaving Ciara without a father at the age of 9 - a fact Deirdre said probably helped make Ciara so protective of Deirdre's children, who had also lost their father.

As a young girl, she attended St. Mark's Elementary School in Dorchester, and she graduated from Fontbonne Academy in Milton in 1996.

''She was a real friendly person,'' said Jim O'Brien, a neighbor. ''She would always talk to everybody. She enjoyed what she was doing over there. She was a good, outgoing kid.''

Ciara worked for five years at Fenway Community Health, as a member of its information technology and data team, according to the agency.

Chris Viveiros, a spokesman for the agency, said her colleagues at the company did not yet feel up to talking about their friend.

''Ciara will be remembered by all who knew her for her laughter, dedication, generous spirit and commitment to family and her beloved pets,'' he wrote in a statement. ''She will be greatly missed.''

Ciara joined the National Guard in October 2005, after being laid off by Fenway Community Health.

She was deployed to Afghanistan in February to work in the finance unit at Bagram Air Base.

Deirdre said Ciara was always good with numbers.

''It just came naturally to her,'' she said.

At home on leave for two weeks in February, one of the first things Ciara did was paint Deirdre's front and back steps and mow the lawn.

Ciara had excitedly shown off her work to her sister, and to this day, a puddle of dried-up paint on the front sidewalk stands as a testament to the generosity that her family will never forget.

Diana Schoberg of The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, Mass.) may be reached at dschoberg@ledger.com.