Peace Corps director Jody Olsen says Puzey was an exemplary volunteer for the agency in Benin where she taught English at a rural school in the village of Badjoude about six hours from the capital of Cotonou.
Puzey's body was discovered early Thursday outside her home and officials suspect she may have been murdered.
Neither the State Department nor the Peace Corps has commented on the cause of death, which will be determined by U.S. and local investigators.
Puzey had been working for the Peace Corps in Benin since July 2007.
In Georgia, her parents, Harry and Lois Puzey of Cumming, were devastated to learn of her death. Lois Puzey says her daughter was a staunch defender of the ``underdog.''
Kate Puzey was born in Germany where her parents were U.S. Department of Defense teachers. When she was 7, they moved to Okinawa where Kate graduated high school at the top of her class. She graduated from William and Mary College in Virginia.
Lois Puzey said her daughter's body will be accompanied back to Georgia in a few days by a Peace Corps official. Services are set for 11 a.m. Saturday at Alpharetta's Sanctuary at Birmingham United Methodist Church.
Kate wrote about her experiences around the world on her blog, found at http://beinginbenin.blogspot.com.
Kate Puzey, right, was found dead earlier in the week in a West African village where she worked as a Peace Corps volunteer (Photo from Fox 5)
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/3/218647