in memeory of MARY JOY UEBELEIN 1998-2019 The Harding community returned from spring break 2019 to mourn the untimely death of a classmate who lived up to her name. On March 16, 2019, junior Mary Joy Uebelein died in the ICU at Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri, after sustaining a brain injury in a car accident on March 8. Shewas traveling home to Wildwood, Missouri, for spring break with her sister, senior Rachel Uebelein, who suffered a concussion in che accident. Mary Joy was a nursing major and member of women's social club Delta Gamma Rho. Throughout spring break, news of the accident spread to the student body, and the community rallied together to support the Uebelein family. Graduate student Caleb Uebelein, brother of Mary Joy and Rachel, posted regular journal entries on Mary Joy's Caring Bridge page, sharing medical updates as well as the family's feelings of gratitude and grief. According to Mike Brown, youth minister at Lafayette Church of Christ in St. Louis, Missouri, where Mary Joy attended, crowds at the hospital had grown to nearly 250 people by March 10. A GoFundMe page helped raise money for medical expenses, and excess funds were donated to an organization for atrisk women in Mary Joy's honor. Studentsalso created a 24-hour online sign-up sheet to be in prayer for Mary Joy and the Uebelein family. On March 15, her father Keith Uebelein went to the hospital prepared to talk to the nursing staff about organ donation, but before he could, Mary Joy's blood pressure and pulse became dangerously low while her fever continued climbing. On the Caring Bridge page he shared the news chat Mary Joy's condition was nor going to improve. "Mary Joy is a great ambassador for the Lord and has devoted her life to helping others," Keith wrote. "The plan is to coordinate my daughter's passing so she can help saveas many people as possible. We now pray the Lord grants her time because this last act of giving is what she wanted." On the morning of March 16, Mary Joy died, but she was able to donate to help 10 different lives. "We would like to thank everyone for all of their prayers and supportthis past week," Caleb wrote on Caring Bridge. "While surrounded by family, Mary Joy left us this morning for her heavenly home." As students returned to Harding's campus the week following her death, conversations centered around Mary Joy. On Tuesday, students gathered on the steps of che George S. Benson Auditorium to mourn and on Thursday, Mary Joy's life was remembered in chapel. At the prayer vigil on March 19, Rachel Uebelein stood before che student body and thanked them for coming to honor her sister and shared her final memory with Mary Joy. "When I see my sister I just seethese swirls of warm, pastel, cool shades of yellow not only because it was her favorite color but because yellow symbolizes hopefulness, creativity, joyfulness, giving, loving and inspiration," Rachel said. "I know that my sister was always an angel, even while she was here. I couldn't see her wings before, bur as I held her hands in the hospital that last night and that last morning I could hear her wings fluttering away as sheleft to go up with our Lord." Sophomore SarahHickerson said she was best friends with Mary Joy, having met her through Delta Gamma Rho. As the Harding community mourned the death of a dear friend and fellow student,Hickerson said she believed Mary Joy's impact was profound because Mary Joy's life was one of substance and purpose. "Twenty years isn't a long time, but Mary Joy made an impact bigger than most would make in ten lifetimes," Hickerson said. "She was a gift from God, and people should understand that a woman like her is very, very rare." story by Megan Stroud quotes adaptedfrom stories by Kaleb Turner published on The Link on March 16and 22, 2019 304
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