Amy J. Will


Planned to be a veterinary assistant

Amy J. will loved animals and took care of people's pets in Geauga County when
they were out of town. She was working her way through Lakeland Community
College to become a veterinary assistant.
  Miss Will died of complications from asthma, which plagued her after colds
throughout her life. She was a 1988 graduate of Brush High School in South
Euclid, where she had lived until 4 1/2 years ago. She was a volunteer for the
Geauga County Humane Society.  She was a contestant this year for Fair
Queen of the Great Geauga County Fair.
  Miss Will enjoyed reading and her pets, two dogs and two cats.


 Candidate Was Queen of Hearts

By Drez Jennings

At first glance, Amy J. Will was an unlikely candidate for the Great
Geauga County Fair Queen.
While her competitors were versed in the traditional 4-H or Junior
Fair activities that judges must consider, she just wanted to be queen to
thank the county for welcoming her when she moved here in 1990.
She also lacked some of the competitors polish, gleaned from
state 4-H competition or participating in Junior Fair or Maple
Festival Queen competitions.
But Amy made up for those things with her heart.
When I met her, Amy was clutching Michael, her favorite stuffed
cat. She said the toy was moral support, in case she got nervous as she
answered questions posed by queen competition judges.
She talked openly about a long term personal crisis she had
overcome, her love for animals and her plans to work as a
veterinary assistant. The judges literally were in tears for a minute
after she said good-bye and went off to dress in her finery for
the final part of the competition.
We didn't know, because she never mentioned it, that she had
struggled with severe asthma since she was a little girl. Her
stepfather, Mark Soederstrom said he's not surprised Amy
didn't talke about her illness.
"She just didn't dwell on her problems. If she had a good day, she did
what she could. If she had a bad day, she accepted it," he said.
Two days after the queen competition, Amy asked her family to
take her to Geauga Hospital. She then was taken to University
Hospital in Cleveland.
That's where  her  heart failed her at last. Amy was placed on a
respirator. Monday her family made the decision to take her off
of life support and let her go. She turned 24 three days before.
Soederstrom said the family is looking for Michael, the
stuffed cat. They want Amy to have it when she is buried today.
I remember Amy had her toy in hand the last time I saw her. She
was dressed in white chiffon and lace, standing half in sun
and half in shadow. As she waited her turn at the microphone,
she waved the toy at her family and friends.
And I remember that she never stopped smiling, even
after the crown went to someone else.

 Remembering Amy... A Very Personal Memory

By Don Pressly
Amy J. Will was something of a contradicting enigma. She was short
in stature, yet possessed the will of a gentle giant. She had known
well the cruelty of a debilitating disease, yet she never became bitter
and loved all that life had to offer.
Amy lived on the edge, refusing to allow the consequences of a
severe asthma to dictate her life. "Nothing ever held her down,"
said Mrs. Peggy Soederstrom, Amy's mother, "she loved to take
trips and always did everything that she could."
Stricken with chronic asthma from  the age of eighteen months,
Amy knew well the meaning of adversity. She never complained of
her problems. " She was a fighter," said her mother, "she never
let it get her down. She always said she drew strength from me,
yet day-in and  day-out I was always afraid."
Amy was hard to stop and impossible to slow down. Once she made
up her mind, she saw it through to the end. Yet not even Amy could will
her frail lungs to go on. Amy died from complications of
severe asthma on Monday, September 12, 1994, just three days
past her 24th birthday.
Let us all remember the indomitable spirit and the warm
friendly smile of Amy whenever life knocks us to our knees. May
her example lift us up and encourage us to go on
 

"Then the mountains rose before me
By the deep will of desire
From the fountain of forgiveness
Beyond the ice and the fire.
Though we share this humble path alone
How fragile is the heart
Oh, give these clay feet wings to fly
To touch the face of the stars.
Breathe life into this feeble heart
Lift this mortal veil of fear
Take these crumbled hopes, etched with tears
We'll rise above these earthly cares."
"Cast your eyes to the ocean
Cast your soul to the sea
When the dark night seems endless
Please remember me."


 


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