Gracelin Sue Owens

Gracelin Sue Owens, 2, of Virden passed away peacefully with her family by her side, Monday March 12, 2018 at St. John Childrens Hospital. She was born May 19, 2015 in Springfield, to Michael Aaron and Michaela Sue Wood Owens. She was welcomed into the family by two brothers, Aaron and Jaxon, who immediately took the roles of protectors; but she soon assumed the role of BOSS of the family. An education fund for Gracies brothers is being establish in her memory. Contributions may be made to Jaxon and Aaron Owens Education Fund, c/o Bank and Trust, 10 West Plummer Boulevard, Chatham, IL, 62629. In July of 2017, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma; she bravely fought through testing and chemotherapy for several months. Neuroblastoma (nb) is a cancer that affects children; it is among the most common childhood tumors. It is not usually diagnosed until the tumor grows and presents symptoms. The majority of childhood neuroblastoma cases are aggressive, showing survival rates of less than 60% with standard chemotherapy, and a disturbing 50% relapse rate. Once relapsed, there is currently no curative treatment, and for those under five years old, the survival rate is less than ten percent. New therapeutic approaches are urgently needed to treat these children. www.BeatNB.com is a not-for-profit site that helps. Their goals are to measurably impact neuroblastoma survival every year; increase survival to greater than 90% by 2027, discover targeted drugs to decrease toxicity, increase quality of life, and increase long term (greater than 5 years) survival. Gracie loved the Minions, Paw Patrol, and playing with an iPad, watching song videos on YouTube. She loved driving fast with her grandma and terrorizing her brothers with her realistic looking toy monkey, Annabelle. If you took her photo, she wanted to see it right away! Gracie loved to receive and play with stickers. She will be greatly missed by her parents, Michaela Owens (Archie Parker) of Virden, and Michael Owens of Franklin; brothers, Aaron and Jaxon; grandparents, Ronda Sitton of Franklin, Dave and Linda Grider of Carlinville, Patty Owens of Tovey, Butch Garrison of Tovey; Great grandparents, Brenda Sitton of Palmyra, Shirley Barbee of Tovey; aunts and uncles, Kaytee Grider of Franklin, Dakota and Abi Grider of Auburn, Erin Pollock of Carlinville, Alisha and Kyle Snyder of Decatur, Debbie (Boogo) Corso of Tovey, Lisa Flemming (Howard Wise) of Kincaid, Bob Crowder (Kim Kohl) of Tovey, Jeff Crowder (Vauna Stahl) of Kincaid; great aunts and uncles, Melanie Britenstine (Scott Smith) of Baltimore, MD, Steven Sitton (Amanda Wiesemann) of Palmyra; kitty companions, Avery and Casper; dog companion, Houston and Missy (her uncles dog). Gracelin was preceded in death by her grandpa, Aaron Owens, great grandparents, Ronald Papa Sitton, Erma and Bob Crowder. Cremation rites will be accorded by Cremation Services of Central Illinois, Chatham, before all services. Her family will greet friends from 4pm until the time of the memorial service at 7pm, Thursday, March 15, at Staab Polk Memorial Home, 8855 State Route 4, Chatham, 62629. Reverend Martin Kaufmann will officiate; he baptized Gracelin, March 2.