Sophie June Schwalbach

Sophie June Schwalbach, 9, of Rockford passed away early Saturday morning, April 13, 2013 in her home surrounded by her loving family. Sophie was born on Mothers Day, May 11, 2003 in Rockford to Scott and Gretchen C. (Hunt) Schwalbach. She was a fourth grader at Marsh Elementary School and was in choir and involved in Brownies, Daisy Scouts and Art Camp. Sophie loved to be outdoors, playing soccer, hiking, swimming and fishing were among some of her favorite activities. She loved her gerbils, Sally and Matilda, her cat, Walter and her dog, Maggie. Sophie is lovingly survived by her parents, Scott and Gretchen; her loving brothers, Jack and Ben; paternal grandparents, Tom and Kay Schwalbach (Mimi her aunts and uncles, Tom and Melissa Budd and their children, her angels on earth, Sam, Abby and Adam Budd; Jeff (Rhonda) Schwalbach; Bob and Holly Enichen and their children, her cousins, Sarah, Amanda (Dan) Gneiding and their children, Charley and Heidi Gneiding; Mark (Sue) Hunt and their children, her cousins, Sam (Jill) Hunt and their children, Henry and Sullivan and her cousins, Anna (Adam) Berman and their son, Oscar and numerous great-aunts and uncles. Sophie is predeceased by her maternal grandparents, Don and June Hunt. Sophie was a beautiful, radiant little girl that had a wonderful zest for life. She loved school, riding her bike, art & crafts, playing Minecraft, bouncing on her trampoline, wrestling with her brothers and playing with her pet gerbil Matilda. She enjoyed swimming & fishing at the Lakehouse, trips to the Cabin and to the Cottage. She played the piano and composed her own song “Oh God You’re in My Heart” which she performed at the Cor Mariae Center in Rockford. She loved her brothers dearly, her grandparents, her aunts & uncles and all of her cousins. She was particularly close to her cousins Abby and Adam who were constantly by her side whenever possible. She was a life-force to be reckoned with and fought valiantly with little complaint for almost two years against this terrible disease that cut short her promising life. Mama and Dada love you so, so much sweetheart and you will always be in our hearts! We would like to thank the caring nurses and staff at SwedishAmerican Home Health and OSF Hospice as well as the Drs. and staffs at UW Children’s Hospital in Madison, WI., ProCure Proton Center in Chicago, IL and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, TN. for all that they did for our little girl. Memorial service will be at noon on Thursday, April 18, 2013 at Christ United Methodist Church, 4509 Highcrest Road with Pastor Jane Eesley officiating. Visitation will be from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday at Christ United Methodist Church and will continue on Thursday from 10:30 a.m. until the time of service, also at the church. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative 17th Bethea Drive Ossining, New York 10562 (this is the closest foundation working towards finding a cure for Sophie’s disease, please put Sophie’s name in the memo line), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital 262 Danny Thomas Place Memphis, TN 38105 or UW Health American Family Children’s Hospital, Attn: Colleen Fraser, 1675 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53792. To express online condolences, please visit: www.fitzgeraldfh.com.