Grace Marie Whitley

Gracie's spirit will reside in so many of us present on earth and beyond. She is a beloved daughter, granddaughter, sister, niece, cousin, schoolmate and friend to all ages. Grace’s namesake means unmerited gift of God and she has touched many lives in such a multitude of ways. 

Creativity was abundant in her life. She was an animal advocate, a crafter, an organizer, an athlete, sports enthusiast, and Notre Dame Academy Drama Club’s biggest fan, to mention a few of her talents and passions. Enthusiasm, gratitude, and fun exploded from her presence. Gracie loved to try out new ideas whether it involved decorating, cooking, art work, playwriting, or game playing. She loved her family so deeply and let everyone know how much she cared.

Gracie loved to read and especially loved dogs and everything dog related. She studied the different breeds of dogs and journaled about the ones she met. The therapy dogs all loved to be with Grace and didn't want to leave her side when the trainer thought it was time to go. Gracie loved camp, especially Bible School camp where she volunteered and helped out with the younger kids at Sylvania First United Methodist Church. Nature camps, zoo camp, art classes and theatre took up her spare time. Softball, basketball, swimming, the Buckeyes (her Bapa’s obsession) and Northview Lady Kats basketball were her sports favorites. Grace had just started Kempo Martial Arts to do with her siblings when she was diagnosed with brain cancer and had to slow down. 

Gracie was quite the party planner and created lots of special events for others with her many special talents. A dear family friend gave her a plaque that says. "They talk about angels but what if angels are within and all we need to do is unfold our wings." Gracie also was given a beautiful hand-made picture that says, "Some angels choose fur instead of wings."

A big network of love and care supported Grace through out her short life. Gracie will be dearly missed by her parents, Jessica Whitley and Ben Hillard; her paternal grandparents, Mark and Ann Hillard; maternal grandparents, Gil and Maria Whitley; great grandparents, Joe and Maria Morabito; siblings, Aidan, Jordyn and Seth; aunts and uncles, Adria, Kevin, Emily and Horst, Sam and Karen, Susannah and Ryan; cousins, Trey, Sonja, Annabelle, Ingrid, Penelope, Eloise, and many more great aunts and uncles, cousins, and very special friends.

Services will be held at Sylvania First United Methodist Church, 7000 Erie Street, Sylvania, Ohio on Tuesday, January 21. Visitation will be held at 1:00 p.m. The funeral service will follow immediately at 2:00 p.m. and graveside services will be held after at Toledo Memorial Park. Donations to the Victory Center can be made in Grace’s honor at the https://thevictorycenter.org.

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