Stunned by death of lively ex-boss OF AGONY

Student, 23, loved her U.S. life

Last summer, Krystle Campbell was his boss. Last Monday, Krystle Campbell was murdered in the terrorist bombings in Boston. Soby Tuesday, those bombings became personal for Eamon Convey as the 22-year-old communications major sat in a detective fiction class at the University of Pittsburgh discussing a murder mystery called “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” He was grieving for the real-life murders in his native city of Boston, but relieved that his family and close friends were okay.

“Then at 4 p.m., I received a text from my mom asking the last name of my ex-boss Krystle at Jasper White’s Summer Shack seafood restaurants on the Harbor Islands,” recalled Convey, the son of former Daily News Editorin-Chief Kevin Convey. “I texted her back Krystle’s last name — Campbell.”

It was like a dark plot twist from a Robert B. Parker “Spenser” novel set in Boston when his mother informed him that Krystle Campbell was the second terrorist bombing fatality identified.

“I sat in the class completely numb,” Convey says, a montage of Krystle Campbell summer memories flickering through his head. “I couldn’t believe it was Krystle, because she was always so full of life. She lived every minute of every day to the fullest. Laughing. Cursing. Working. Vivacious. Stressed. But she worked so damned hard with a smile on her face even when she was (upset) that she inspired the rest of us.”

He says Krystle was like a den mother.

“Her favorite line to me and other student staffers like Meagan and Vicky was, ‘School comes f---ing first!’ If we had to take a summer course, or a test, or do research she made us take off, shouting, ‘School comes f---ing first!’ ”

Convey says he liked and admired Campbell from that May afternoon last year when she hired him on the spot as a cook, cashier and bottle washer at the popular seafood restaurants on Georges and Spectacle islands in Boston Harbor.

“Krystle loved the culinary business,” he says. “She wanted to make it a really successful summer for the company. She believed in herself and always gave it her all. And so she motivated all of us who worked for her to be all that we could be at work, in school, in life. I remember her telling me to work hard, be confident, and I’d enjoy life more. And she led by example.”

Convey says that after work he would often take the 40-minute ferry ride home with Krystle to the Long Wharf of Boston, and remembers that she liked a cold Harpoon IPA summer ale, the Red Sox, the Celtics, the Patriots and music by OAR.

“She was a smart, hardworking gal from blue-collar Boston who loved her city and loved people,” he says. “Krystle was so hands-on and fair and likable that we all worked extra hard for her. I remember when she’d gone three straight months without a single day off. She finally scheduled one day off and all week all she talked about was enjoying one day on the beach to unwind. And, of course, somebody else pulled a no-show, and so she had to come in to work.”

He says Krystle stormed ashore from the ferry and, even though she was fuming, she put a smile on her pretty face and worked the busy register.

“She worked so hard, so fast, so bubbly and professional, that we all made twice as much in tips that day,” says Convey. “She wasn’t happy, but instead of taking it out on anyone else, Krystle turned it into a better day for the rest of us. That was Krystle Campbell in a nutshell. . . . But she could be as tough as nails, too.”

Not as tough, unfortunately, as the killer nails packed in the pressure-cooker bomb planted at the marathon finish line by a sociopathic coward who had as much contempt for his fellow human beings as Krystle Campbell had human compassion.

Afew weeks ago, Eamon Convey called Jasper White’s to ask Krystle if he could work for her again this summer.

“They said she’d moved on to an upscale steakhouse,” says Convey. “I was going to miss working with her. Then on Tuesday I learned that Krystle who loved life had been killed in the Boston Marathon bombings. I just felt so sad, empty, numb. I was torn between attending her funeral or staying for my finals. I got my answer when I thought what Krystle would have said: “School comes f---ing first!’ ”

And he laughs, which is how, Convey says, Krystle Campbell would want everyone to remember Krystle Campbell.

dles on her Weibo page.

“RIP beautiful angel!” one wrote in Chinese. “Lingzi, we will remember you. We will miss you,” wrote another.

The U.S. Embassy in China pledged to “provide any assistance to the family members to ensure they are able to personally deal with this tragedy.”

As the grief traveled across the globe, other gripping stories of casualties — who were also being treated at Boston Medical — emerged:

Sydney Corcoran barely survived one catastrophe in 2011 — and she almost died again when bombs at the Boston Marathon mangled her legs.

The 18-year-old and her mom, Celeste, 47, were both felled by the blasts. Sydney suffered deep arterial injuries, Celeste lost both of her legs below the knees.

It was a horrific echo for Sydney, who was run down by a car in June 2011 and ended up with a fractured skull. “I thought we were done with traumatic events,” her older brother, Tyler, told the Lowell Sun.

If only. Moments after the second blast, an unknown good Samaritan stanched the bleeding, possibly saving Sydney’s life. A photo of the heroic moment quickly became one of the iconic images of the Boston bloodshed.

“(My father) saw my mom and her eyes were open,” said Tyler Corcoran, 20.

“Once he realized she was alive, he noticed both her legs hanging on by skin. He asked a guy for a belt.” Now both Corcorans are at Boston Medical Center recovering side by side.

A 5-year-old boy caught in the Boston Marathon bombings also faces a long recovery — if he survives.

The child, whose name was not released, is one of two patients still in critical condition following Monday’s attack, Dr. Peter Burke, chief of trauma surgery at Boston Medical Center.

The hospital performed seven life-saving amputations as a result of the attack, and re- ceived 23 patients in total, the Boston Herald reported. Of those, 19 remain hospitalized.

Doctors found a stomach-churning mix of concrete, wood, metal and plastic in the bodies of patients hurt by the shrapnelfilled bombs near the finish line of the 26.2-mile race.

Burke told the Boston Herald eight patients would go under the knife again Wednesday.

“I will not be happy until they are home,” Burke said. “I will not be satisfied.”

l Boston Children’s Hospital is still caring for three young patients. A 2-year-old boy with a head injury is in good condition, a 10-year-old boy with multiple leg injuries is in critical condition, and a 9-year-old girl with a leg injury also is in critical condition.

On Tuesday, it was revealed that 8-yearold Martin Richard was one of three people who died in the blasts. Krystle Campbell, 29, of Arlington, Mass., also died; her family had initially been told she survived.