CHICAGO — Hundreds of friends and family poured into St. Mary Immaculate Church in Plainfield Friday morning to mourn Kara Welsh, a national title-winning University of Wisconsin at Whitewater gymnast who was killed last month.

Before the service started on the sunny late-summer day, a procession of about 20 cars pulled up to the church and many more filled the parking lot.

According to Welsh’s obituary, the lifelong Plainfield resident is survived by her “loving parents,” “adoring sister” and “devoted grandparent.”

She also left behind many teammates and friends, who have remembered the 21-year-old as a dedicated and supportive teammate with a “big personality.”

Chad Richards, 23, is charged in Wisconsin with first-degree intentional homicide and use of a dangerous weapon in Welsh’s death. Richards allegedly shot Welsh, his girlfriend, eight times on Aug. 30 after getting into a heated argument with her at his apartment, according to a criminal complaint made public last week. He told detectives he got “so mad that he punched the door,” but couldn’t remember what the argument was about.

A UW-Whitewater student, Richards — of Loves Park, Illinois, just northeast of Rockford — is listed on a university roster as being part of the wrestling team during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. Richards’ bond was set at $1 million and a preliminary hearing is scheduled next month.

Welsh was a national champion and two-time All-American gymnast, known as a “phenom on the vault” with four of the school’s top eight scores, according to a university statement. She was entering her senior year, majoring in business management.

Welsh said in a December Instagram post from the gymnastics team that her favorite memory from college was winning a national title. She enjoyed listening to “November Rain” by Guns N’ Roses while studying, and her favorite on-campus spot was the weight room. After graduating, she hoped to “help people out and be a coach for bodybuilding,” according to the post.

“A powerful athlete, dedicated teammate and the light in everyone’s dark days, Kara truly lifted each and every one of us up in her time as a Warhawk gymnast,” gymnastics coach Jen Regan said last week. “There are no words to describe the void we all feel in our hearts, but Kara’s legacy will live on through Warhawk gymnastics forever.”

Athletic director Ryan Callahan said Welsh was a “true Warhawk — an amazing person, student and athlete.” He said she was “selfless and made everyone around her better.”

Memories and condolences also showed up on Welsh’s obituary online, including a high school classmate who said Welsh “always had a smile on her face and was so sweet to everyone.” Others said while they didn’t know Welsh personally, her death is “tragic” and a “tremendous loss.”

“My heart melts with emotions for (the) Welsh family. I am pleased to have been introduced to Kara the day that at gymnastics practice she casually did a back tuck off of the trampoline bed and pinned my daughter (G) down to the ground with her flipping body,” Paula Misek posted. “I couldn’t believe the news, but after getting to know how much joy and a free spirit Kara embodied, I’m not surprised. G is ever grateful to have stood next to Kara through the years. We love her in so many ways!”

Kaeli Welsh called her sister the “light of my life,” at a court hearing earlier this month, saying she was “the strongest person I know, both physically and mentally” and had “so much more to give the world than gymnastics,” as reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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