Elisabeth Grace Wenzel

Elisabeth Grace Wenzel [“Gracie”] passed peacefully on May 8, 2020 at her home in Washington, DC. The calendar says Grace was 23, yet the inspiration and influence she projected in this world would say otherwise. While cancer may have taken Grace’s time on this earth, cancer was no match for her beautiful and irrepressible spirit. Grace is survived by a large and loving family - her mother, Elisabeth Braun Thompson (Dale) of Louisville, KY; her father, Donald G. Wenzel Jr. of Prospect, KY and Charlotte, NC; sister Marilyn “Lyn” Elisabeth Wenzel (Donald “Tripp” Hoadley Brockway, III) of Washington, DC; brother Warren Braun Wenzel of Jackson, WY; step-brother Timothy Austin Thompson of Montgomery, AL; step-sister Morgan Jane Thompson of Montgomery, AL; and a squad of amazing Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. Gracie will reunite with those who went before her: Carl Frank Braun (grandfather); Janice Audrey Gruber (aunt), Marilyn Prudden Braun (grandmother), Jonathan Earl Pettit (uncle), and Donald George Wenzel Sr. (grandfather).

The youngest of three children, and the youngest of twelve cousins, Grace was born on July 26, 1996 in Louisville, KY. Throughout her youth, and into her young adulthood, Highland Presbyterian Church (Louisville, KY), was a foundation for Grace, where she occasionally graced the congregation with sermons, readings, and inspiration. At 14 years old, her love of faith and spirituality manifested in the delivery at the National Festival of Young Preachers of her sermon, titled “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff” – which still speaks powerfully to us today (on YouTube).

A 2014 summa cum laude graduate of Ballard High School, Grace then went to study at Georgetown University in Washington DC, graduating magna cum laude in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Balancing her intellect with her athleticism, Grace was a soccer player throughout her youth and parlayed her love of soccer into an affection for playing rugby with the Georgetown Club Rugby team. Immediately upon graduation, Grace joined the talented labor and delivery nursing team at Sibley Memorial Hospital, in Washington, DC. In her short time at Sibley, Grace assisted in bringing more than 150 newborn lives into the world, truly one of her greatest joys.

When Gracie’s cancer returned with a vengeance in October 2018, rather than surrender, she viewed her condition as a motivation for cause and became a passionate advocate for cancer cure research and cancer patient support. True to form, she forged deep bonds and relationships with her cancer care teams – enduring thanks to Dr. Geoffrey Gibney (Georgetown University Hospital) and Dr. Evan Lipson (Johns Hopkins University) and their teams. Grace quickly forged a bond with those in the melanoma research community, importantly the ‘Living With Melanoma’ support group and the ‘Melanoma Research Alliance’. While unable to attend in person to give the Patient Advocate opening remarks at the National Melanoma Research Conference in February of this year, she was determined to deliver and recorded a videotaped version of her remarks from her hospital bed.

A chronicle of Grace’s journey with cancer can be found on her CaringBridge journal site here.

For her final weeks, Grace asked her immediate family to become her in home hospice care team providing around the clock care. During that short time, we creatively accelerated the calendar forward and shared ‘a year of holidays and celebrations’ with Grace – allowing us to experience so many laughs, memories and a few tears. During that most difficult time, we saw in a crucible what Gracie exemplified throughout her life…. she gave more back to us than we could ever give to her.

A proper and joyous celebration of Grace’s life will be held in the future when those who wish to honor her life can gather again. In the meantime, among ways to recognize her life Grace welcomes support for the following organizations:

Melanoma Research Alliance, Washington DC

Highland Presbyterian Church, Louisville KY

Polka Dot Mama Melanoma Foundation, Raleigh NC

The family would like to recognize and thank the many, many individuals – family, friends, faith community, medical caregivers, and others – who tirelessly and selflessly uplifted Grace during her journey. She never seemed to see in a mirror dimly…. we know for certain she now sees face to face.

We love you so deeply, so very, very much Gracie…...