Marine Cpl. Jennifer Marie Parcell, 20, of Bel Air was killed while supporting combat operations in Anbar province.

Corporal Parcell, a 2004 graduate of Fallston High School, was a landing support specialist for combat operations and was scheduled to leave Iraq on March 1 and return to Okinawa, where she was stationed. She was the fourth Maryland woman to die in military service in Iraq.

Yesterday, several family members gathered at the home of her parents to console one another over her loss. Large yellow ribbons adorned the ranch-style house, and the U.S. flag and a Marine Corps banner hung at the entrance to the driveway.

“I want my daughter honored,” said Pamala Simon, adding that she plans to fly the flags indefinitely.

Corporal Parcell followed in the footsteps of her older brother, Cpl. Joseph Parcell, joining the Marines soon after she graduated from Fallston High.

“She went to his Marine graduation, and that really motivated her to join,” said Martha Benton, the siblings’ maternal aunt.

Brother and sister crossed paths in Iraq last fall, when both were serving their first tour there. Joseph Parcell said he sometimes slipped and called his sister “Boo,” a childhood nickname.

“She was as always upbeat,” said the brother, who is stationed in Cherry Point, N.C. “She was there to do a job, and she believed in what she was doing. None of us want to go to war, but when you see those people and what their lives are like, you want to help.”

While her brother is considering a military career, Jennifer Parcell planned to leave the Marines and attend college when her tour ended in 2009. She had taken several courses online, her brother said.

“Even in Iraq, she was taking a course at University of Maryland,” he said. “Imagine going halfway around the world to go to Maryland.”

Ms. Benton, of Aberdeen, described her niece as a real “go-getter.”

“She knew what she wanted and she knew what it took to get to her goals,” the aunt said.

Helping others was routine for the Marine corporal. She sponsored an African child through a mission charity. And when Pakistan was devastated by an earthquake last year, she and others in her unit were dispatched to the scene. She earned the Humanitarian Service Medal for her efforts.

When Corporal Parcell was home visiting last June, she posed for a picture in her dress blues, with several medals pinned on her jacket. The photo was taken at Mount Calvary Free Will Baptist Church in Aberdeen, where her family plans to hold a funeral service.

“We are honored … to have two Marines in our family,” Ms. Benton said.

I didn’t know you all that well, but you were always very nice every time we did get a chance to talk. I hope you’re in a better place now. And I’m sure you’ve seen all the bulletins on myspace that the class of ‘04 has been sending out for you. Even if you haven’t talked to us in years, you were one of ours and we’ll miss you.