“They definitely had true love,” Christy Mich tells PEOPLE about daughter Mary and her boyfriend Luke Reimer

From left: Mary Mich and Luke Reimer.Credit : Courtesy of Christy Mich

Shortly after their 20-year-old daughter celebrated her one-year anniversary with her boyfriend last year, the young students were found dead in a car near her college dorm. In the wake of their accidental deaths, her parents are mourning the loss of the young couple, who were already planning their future together.

“They definitely had true love,” mom Christy Mich tells PEOPLE.

Mary Mich and Luke Reimer were found dead in a car on the campus of Franciscan University in Ohio on Jan 19, police tell PEOPLE.

“Toxicology results confirmed both subjects died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning,” the department said. “This was ruled accidental in nature and appears to be caused by a problem with the vehicle’s exhaust.”

In a letter, school president Father Dave Pivonka said what happened appeared to be a “tragic accident” that brought “profound sorrow to our entire Franciscan University community.”

“It’s a silent killer. You don’t smell it, you don’t see it,” says Mary’s dad Chris, a 54-year-old sales strategy producer at QVC and HSN from Downingtown, Penn.

Christy, a 51-year-old dance teacher, tells PEOPLE that Luke, a 20-year-old business major who played defense on his school’s men’s lacrosse team, was found resting on Mary inside the car, which was parked just 15 feet from her dorm at Saint Agnes Hall.

“Resting his head on her is exactly what Mary would want,” she adds. “She would want to comfort him.”

From left: Mary Mich and Luke Reimer.Courtesy of Christy Mich

Luke first spotted Mary in the cafeteria at their Catholic university in October 2024 when he was hanging out with his friend Liam, the roommate of Mary’s twin sister’s boyfriend. Immediately Luke turned to his friend and said Mary was the “most beautiful girl on campus,” according to her mom.

“Mary would say, ‘Mom, I kid you not, I was wearing a sweatshirt, jammy pants and slippers and my hair in a messy bun,’ ” Christy says.

Mary Mich and Luke Reimer.Courtesy of Christy Mich

Faith was important to Mary, a junior studying theology and catechetics at Franciscan, her family tells PEOPLE. The straight-A student had an artsy side as well, singing, playing a little piano and ukulele and dancing for 15 years at the Oxford Center of Dance in Pennsylvania.

As one of six kids, she also had a fondness for children — and spent time over the summer volunteering at an orphanage in Ecuador.

As his daughter’s new relationship blossomed, Chris tells PEOPLE that Luke really made an effort to connect with their family — even playing video games with Mary’s brothers.

Luke even went the extra mile when it came to his girlfriend’s dad, waiting in line for three hours at an anime convention in order to get a framed photo from one of Chris’ favorite shows, Cowboy Bebop, signed by the cast.

“That will always be the best gift I’ve ever received in my entire life because it was given out of so much love and so much connection,” Chris says. “It’s so funny that he desperately wanted my approval — because he had it.”

From left: Mary Mich and Luke Reimer.Courtesy of Christy Mich

Although they were young, the couple had bright plans for their future.

Luke was thinking of launching a business that would make lacrosse supplies more affordable, while Mary was considering applying her studies to teaching children.

She also hoped to be a wife and a mom, and while Luke hadn’t officially proposed yet, Christy says that the couple were already planning their wedding.

From left: Luke Reimer and Mary Mich.Courtesy of Christy Mich

Following their deaths, both of their parents were on the same page about what they wanted for the couple’s joint funeral.

“Mr. Reimer said, ‘Can they wear rings?’ And we’re like, ‘Great,’ ” Chris recalls. “And Christy and I said, ‘Can we treat it as a wedding?’ ”

So that’s exactly what their parents did.

Dressed in the red dress she wore on Christmas Eve, Mary was buried in a white casket representing a wedding dress, while Luke had a black casket for a tuxedo, Chris says.

The flowers that day were the ones Mary had already picked out for her wedding — and the service featured a Bible passage normally read at weddings, the one about love being patient and kind.

Although they weren’t laid to rest together, they both wore their “blessed” wedding bands and a lock of each other’s hair was buried over their hearts as well, Chris says.

Now, Christy takes comfort knowing that a part of her daughter will always be with Luke.

“Their story and their message is so important,” she says. “And that gives me a level of peace, as my mother says, ‘a peace that surpasses understanding.’ “

She adds, “We have our moments where we are a wreck, and then we have our moments where I can talk like a human being. And I’m going to see my Mary again someday. And she’s with Luke, the love of her life.”