Public memorial service planned for former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst in Charlotte
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Former Miss USA Cheslie Kryst: 1991-2022
Cheslie Kryst, the Charlotte lawyer with deep ties to the Carolinas and later became the 2019 Miss USA, died by suicide in January 2022.
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Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of suicide. If you or someone you know is struggling, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 800-273-8255.
A public memorial service will be held for former Miss USA and long-time Carolinas resident Cheslie Kryst in Charlotte.
Kryst, 30, died by suicide in late January in New York.
The “public celebration of life” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 18 at Elevation Blakeney, 8835 Blakeney Professional Drive.
“The celebration will also be live-streamed,” a spokesperson for the family said in a news release.
“The family will observe a private, invitation-only celebration prior to the public celebration, as they continue to ask the public to respect their privacy during this time,” the statement said.
Instead of flowers, Kryst’s family has asked that donations in her memory be made to Dress for Success, a global nonprofit organization where Kryst served as an ambassador.
Kryst was born in Michigan but grew up in the Rock Hill area. A graduate of the University of South Carolina and Wake Forest University, she had worked for a Charlotte law firm as a civil litigation attorney.
She won the Miss USA pageant in 2019 and was living in New York while working as a correspondent for the entertainment news show Extra TV.
“While her life on this earth was short, it was filled with many beautiful memories,” her mother, April Simpkins, said in a previous statement released by Kryst’s publicist, the LEPR Agency. “We miss her laugh, her words of wisdom, her sense of humor and mostly her hugs.”
This story was originally published February 10, 2022 at 10:00 AM.
