Angela Kristine Park died tragically in a bicycle accident in Chicago, IL on Thursday, August 9th. She was born on July 5th 1979, in Waterbury, Connecticut, to Richard and Gloria Nielsen. Her family lived in various cities before planting roots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where she attended Whittier Elementary and the gifted and talented program at Roosevelt Elementary, Lance Junior High, and graduated with honors from Tremper High School. While in high school, she competed on the Barracuda swim team and was a state champion high school swimmer. After high school, Angela earned her Bachelors Degree in Human Development in 2001 and Master's Degree in Education in 2002, both from Northwestern University. She was also a member of Alpha Phi Sorority. After a few years teaching in the Chicago Public Schools System, Angela found her true calling as a personal trainer, working for Chicago Athletic Clubs, and eventually starting her own business, Spark Multisport.

Angela married her college sweetheart, Eugene (Gene) Park, on July 31st 2004 in Rockford, IL. They resided in Chicago, Illinois.

Angela and Gene have two daughters, their greatest joys, Alexandra, 8, and Olivia, 3. Angela enjoyed every moment with her children.

Angela swam competitively for 12 years and was a top age group swimmer in Wisconsin and the Midwest. While attending Northwestern, Angela began dabbling in the sport of triathlon. She has since completed upwards of 100 triathlons, including multiple Half Ironmans, Ironman Arizona, Ironman Wisconsin and Ironman Santa Rosa. She has had numerous top 3 age group and overall female finishes during her triathlon career. She built her company, Spark Multisport, with the belief that adopting a healthy, active lifestyle starts with small changes and motivation. She helped all find his/her inner-athlete. Angela was a top personal trainer and triathlon coach. Through her company, she did group races and women's health retreats. When she was not running, biking, and swimming, she loved to travel and spend time with her husband and daughters.

Angela is survived by her loving husband, Eugene; daughters, Alexandra Grace and Olivia Kate; parents, Richard and Gloria Nielsen; brother, Scott (Samantha) Nielsen; father and mother-in-law, Hyon and Sook Park; sister-in-law, Hannah Park (Jae Yoo), nieces, Charlotte and Gabrielle, and nephew, Jacob; best friend, Tavia Gavinski; and numerous friends and family who loved her dearly. She will be deeply missed by everyone she knew.

A funeral service for Angela will be on Tuesday, August 14th, at 11:30 a.m. at First United Methodist Church, 77 West Washington Street #2, Chicago, IL 60602. There will be a luncheon at the church after the service. Seating may be limited, but food will be plentiful.

Parking is available at the self-park lot with entrances at 179 W. Washington Street or 172 W. Madison Street.

If you are attending the service, it would be Angela's wishes that you wear pink or sparkly clothing.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the USA Triathlon Foundation, enabling others to experience the sport that was such a big part of her life: https://usatriathlonfoundation.org .