Celebration of Life for Kelly Elizabeth McGuire

Dear friends,

Sadly, Kelly Elizabeth McGuire passed away unexpectedly on Monday, January 15th. Her family, friends, and loved ones are devastated, and deeply saddened to have lost her at such a young age with so much that lay ahead. Kelly’s sudden passing is heartbreaking, and comes just a few short months before she and our good friend Chad Wheatley had planned to get married.

Kelly and Chad spent their very last days together talking about the future they would share and looking forward to loving, holding, and supporting each other for decades to come. To those around them, it was clear that when Kelly and Chad were together, they were both the happiest they had ever been.

Many of us have reached out to Chad to express our condolences, but have struggled to find ways to support him more as he contends with both her loss and the sudden loss of the journey of love and togetherness he and Kelly were just beginning to realize. We all know that there is nothing we can do that will bring Kelly back or restore the part of Chad’s soul that is now missing. But there is something we can do that would mean a great deal to him and honor the memory of Kelly in a beautiful way.

Anyone who has lost a family member knows that, in addition to the intense grief we feel over the loss of our loved one, there are hard practical realities… medical bills alone can be a heavy burden for those left behind. Knowing Chad, he is ready and willing to do whatever it takes to shoulder anything that comes his way, no matter how much work that takes. But, what Chad wants most of all – what is giving him a reason to look ahead, to briefly glimpse past the immediate pain – is to hold a celebration of life for Kelly later this year that will honor what she meant to him and those whose life she touched. Chad would never ask for help with this either, but I know it would mean the world to him if we all pitched in to help with the celebration of life and, if we raise enough, maybe even a little bit extra to help with the many other financial burdens he is inevitably going to face in the weeks and months to come.

There is no way to take away his grief, but we can make his life a little easier while he is going through this heartbreaking moment, and we can give him something beautiful to look forward to.

Please consider giving what you can to bring a little bit of light to Chad’s life in these dark times. Let’s show him that as he struggles to heal a little more every day, we are here to help him along that path.

Thank you, dearly, for anything that you can do to help.