Elizabeth Weidner (17) of Bishop Creek

 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:00 AM Friday, October 8, 2021 at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Teutopolis, Illinois with burial in St. Aloysius Cemetery, Bishop Creek near her home. Visitation will be held from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM Thursday at the church.  

 

Memorial donations may be given to the “Elizabeth Ann Weidner Memorial Scholarship Fund”  C/O Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation, PO Box 1211, Effingham, IL 62401 in lieu of flowers as a way for Elizabeth to continually give back with her servant heart. https://4agc.com/donation_pages/c4dac845-ab59-4cb9-b986-6d941fbd08fc

 

Elizabeth was born on January 2, 2004 at St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital in Effingham, IL the daughter of Matthew and Jennifer (McCabe) Weidner. She was the second of four children earning the distinction of the “1st Baby of the Year” at St. Anthony’s. Right away dubbed Queen Elizabeth by her Great-Grandpa Albert, he affectionately called her his “Queenie” growing up. During treatment she often reflected on how her Grandfather survived being a prisoner of war applying his strength “better days are coming” to her own pursuit.

 

Elizabeth had a zest for life and lived life to the fullest in her short time here. She loved spending time with her brothers Ethan, Eric, and Evan. Ethan and Elizabeth were 15 months apart and did everything together. They were inseparable and developed a special bond.  

 

Elizabeth was diagnosed in January 2016 with Stage 4 High Risk Neuroblastoma. She underwent numerous surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, bone marrow transplant, immunotherapy, clinical trials, and much much more. Elizabeth battled this horrible disease for nearly 6 years and did so with so much grace, determination, and strength. She inspired and impacted so many people not only locally, but on a state and national level. In 2017, she was crowned Jr. Miss Effingham County Fair. She was so proud to wear that crown and to represent Effingham County and attended many pageants, events, parades, and festivals across the state to show her pride. After winning that crown, Elizabeth came up with idea to start Crowns Fight Cancer raising money and awareness in the fight against childhood cancer. Her motto is “Just a Girl Changing the World One Rhinestone at a Time”. Elizabeth started an amenity drive where she, along with the help of several clubs, schools, communities, and businesses, to date have collected over 80,000 items like shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothpaste, etc. donating to Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in multiple states helping families like hers who may be stuck in the hospital and lack some of those items. This could allow the families to focus on what was most important, their child!  

 

Elizabeth was involved in numerous activities, organizations, and clubs throughout the years. She was involved in modified pedal tractor pulls at a young age and competed in numerous competitions. One year Elizabeth was both the Illinois and Indiana State Champion competing at Nationals for many years in Mitchell, South Dakota pulling at times in excess of 900 pounds with pure leg muscle. Elizabeth had a passion for dance and started dance lessons when she was only 3 years old at Jansen’s. She loved all kinds of dance and could really tell a story with her dances. Elizabeth was a cheerleader for the Teutopolis Junior High School for 2 years, cheering her teams on to multiple state appearances, but really she was a cheerleader for life!  Her love for dance eventually led her to become a Teutopolis High School Pomerette which was a dream of hers since she was a little girl. It was not unusual to leave at 2 am to drive to Cincinnati, Ohio for treatment and make it back just in time for basketball games with a smile; many not knowing exactly what had taken place. In 2021 she was the Illinois High School Association Spirit of Sport winner again elevating THS to the national stage.  

 

Elizabeth was passionate about theater and drama as well.  In 2020, she took “title-town” to the state dance in the Poetry Out Loud competition placing Runner-Up in Springfield with her selections of “Invictus,” “Triumph Like a Girl,” and “Siblings”. She performed in numerous plays at the Effingham Performance Center, Teutopolis Junior High School, and Teutopolis High School. She was preparing for this fall’s production at the time of her death. She also had one of the leading parts in the Teutopolis Terquasquicentennial Celebration.  

 

Elizabeth also loved 4-H and was a member of the Country Cousins 4-H Club and other spin clubs. She was involved in public speaking through 4-H where she won at the state level for many years. She also exhibited many other general projects winning at state in those as well. She showed many different animals throughout her years including rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, pigs, and competed in Master Showmanship. Elizabeth looked forward to camping at the Effingham County Fair every year and enjoying what it had to offer. In 2020, Elizabeth was named the 2021 National 4-H Youth in Action Pillar winner for the area of Civic Engagement. There are only four youth that were fortunate enough to win at the national level each year representing agriculture, health, and stem pillars. In fact, Dolly Parton took notice of Elizabeth’s work to better other’s lives as a fellow 4-H alum and humanitarian. Most recently, Elizabeth showed pigs at the Duquoin State Fair and had the Reserve Grand Champion Duroc Gilt which she was so proud of. Another of Elizabeth’s interests included FFA. She loved volunteering her time with the Piglets on Parade exhibit during the Illinois State Fair educating the public about the swine industry birthing a few babies along the way. She was a chapter officer for the Teutopolis FFA chapter including Reporter and Secretary. She was also a Section 20 officer for 2 years which included Sentinel and Secretary. She participated in many contests throughout the years where she won the Section 20 Creed Speak Contest and was the 2020 State winner for her SAE in Service Learning advancing to Nationals. She received her State FFA Degree in 2021, a distinction that only the Top 3% of Illinois FFA members receive, working towards her American Degree, a distinction that only the Top 1% of American FFA members receive. She has a passion for hands on learning writing many grants with her brother Ethan’s input to get the hydroponic program started at Teutopolis, working with teachers Brooke Hoene and Emily Petty to secure funding for revamping the courtyards, which will benefit students at THS. She was also working towards securing funding to build a greenhouse, elevating the FFA program to the next level for students and community.

 

In 2017, Elizabeth started to grow her advocacy voice for those battling childhood cancer. She was a national spokesperson at many different American Cancer Society events. She was responsible for bringing the #Gold Together initiative for the American Cancer Society to Illinois. She spoke, danced, and hosted at Curefest in Washington, D.C. many times and pleaded with Congressional leaders to increase funding for childhood cancer research and ultimately better treatments. She participated in several childhood cancer caucuses and Climb the Hill events on Capitol Hill. She was part of a groundbreaking meeting at the University of Maryland where the FDA, medical professionals, parents, and children met to discuss chemotherapy induced hearing loss. Even though she was faced with a tough battle of her own, Elizabeth really wanted to advocate for others and be a voice for those who did not have one. In addition she partnered with Kids v. Cancer and the American Childhood Cancer Organization working on numerous projects including the World Health Organization and Amazon globally.  She filmed the award-winning “The Promise: A Docuseries on Childhood Cancer” and a mini-doc “Switching the Summit” in the last few years. She had started working on a third film project in August. As an individual over the years, she raised nearly $70,000 for various cancer organizations and as part of various groups she raised millions for research and family support programs.

 

She was truly a kind, caring, loving, passionate, and graceful young woman who inspired and impacted many all over the world. In 2019, she earned the distinction of the Governor’s Volunteer Service Award and the national Prudential Community Spirit Award. Even going through the most difficult of times, Elizabeth would brighten a room with her smile and embodied what it meant to lead with a servant’s heart. She redefined what it meant to live with cancer. She leaves behind a legacy that will live on forever. She will be greatly missed by those who had the pleasure of meeting her.  

 

“Be someone who leaves a mark in people’s life, not a scar, who lifts people up, not cast them down, who brings out the best in people.” Elizabeth highly encouraged organ and blood product donation and never shied away from giving food to the homeless wherever she was.

 

Elizabeth leaves behind her parents, Matthew and Jennifer; three brothers, Ethan (Madilyn Brummer), Eric, and Evan; grandparents Richard and Margaret (Kuenstler) Weidner of Noble; her many, many animals (even the cats) and many aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, pageant sisters and supporters from afar. It took a village…

 

Elizabeth was preceded in death by a sibling angel; her aunt Kimberly L. McCabe; her cousins Derek and Nathan Weidner; great-grandparents Albert and Arvella (Alexander) McCabe, Marion and Sophia (Schwab) Gasparovich, Raymond and Bernadine (Ochs) Kuenstler, and Royal and Emma (Buerster) Weidner.