Sept 19 (Reuters) - The acting president of Temple University in Philadelphia, JoAnne Epps, fell ill on Tuesday while attending a memorial service on campus and died a short time later, the school said in a statement. Epps appeared to have "suffered a sudden episode" and was "promptly attended to by emergency medical" personnel at the scene, Dr. Daniel del Portal, chief clinical officer for the Temple University Health System, told an afternoon news conference. She was then taken to Temple Hospital, "where resuscitation efforts continued but were unfortunately unsuccessful," del Portal said. "Temple has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember," Epps said in a statement when she was appointed acting president in April. Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles and Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Persons: JoAnne Epps, Epps, Charles Blockson, Daniel del, Jason Wingard, Steve Gorman, Kanishka Singh, Michael Perry Organizations: Temple University, Local, Temple University Health System, Temple Hospital, university's, Thomson Locations: Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Washington