Tia'Rae Batin

Tia was born in Yakima, WA on April 28, 1994, the second child of Melinda Cartmell and Andrew Batin. Like her older sister, Shawday, Tia was born with mitochondrial disease, which for her affected the function of the cells of her heart. At age eight, Tia received her first heart transplant.

Tia never let having received a new heart slow her down or define her life. She was proud of being a country girl at heart. She loved camping, fishing, horses, and the world. Very special to her was the time she spent with her step father, Memo, working on cars and going to car races and car shows. She was a Redskins cheerleader for Grid Kids Football and was on the Davis High School Swim Team. She was active in several churches, knowing that truth was worth searching for but that it had many voices through which it could be heard. For her, a new heart was not an excuse to be cared for by others, but was rather a chance to plunge into life and live it as fully as she could. Her sayings were simple: “Inhale Peace, Exhale Pain;” and “The braver I get, the stronger I get, the more I inspiration I give.”

Throughout her life Tia was active as a spokesperson for people with mitochondrial disease and transplant patients. She spoke to the student body of Davis High School about the need for organ donation and life as a transplant recipient and was the subject of two Yakima Herald articles on the challenges and richness of her life. She attended and supported the Stanley Stann/Camp Korey for Seattle Children’s Hospital. In 2013 Tia graduated with her classmates and friends from Naches Valley High School.

Tia never had to question the support of her mother, Mel, and the love of her younger sister, Kat. Mel led Tia to stand on her own, to be responsible for the daily medications and the treatments that were needed to let her survive with a borrowed heart. Unlike some transplant patients, Tia learned from her mother to care for herself, to know what she needed to do to face each day on her own, and to do it without question or complaint. Like her mother, Tia was a strong woman who met the world as it was given to her rather than as she wished it would be.

Tia is survived by her mother, Melinda Cartmell, her sister, Katherine Cartmell, her step-father, Guillermo Martinez, her father, Andrew Batin, her grandparents, great grandparents, many aunts and uncles, her dog Pepper, and too many cousins and other relatives to list.

Tia was preceded in death by her sister, Shawday Batin, her grandparents, and great grandparents.

Tia had so many friends who were special to her that there is no way to mention them all. Her family gives thanks for all of those who loved her, who cared for her, and who supported her as she faced the challenges that life brought to her. She was a light to the world and will be very sorely missed.

A service will be held at St Timothy’s Episcopal Church, 4105 Richey Rd, Yakima, at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 17, 2015.

Rather than sending flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Tia’s name to Children’s Hospital and Stanley Stann/Camp Korey. Donations to assist the family in meeting Tia’s funeral and other final expenses can be made to an account in her name at HAPO Credit Union. Remembrances can be shared on her Facebook page: Tia Rae Batin. Most of all, her life can be cherished though giving other persons a chance to live life fully by becoming an organ donor.

Arrangements are in the care of Rainier Memorial Center.