From the time she was a little girl, Krissi Holman was just different. Her smile could light up a room and her love for laughter and silliness was one to be rivaled.

“She could get people to do things that other people couldn’t get them to do,” recalls Susan, Krissi’s mother.

Most notably, Krissi was known for her love and care for others. She could constantly be found reaching out to students who were sitting alone during lunch, or taking food and other items to homeless neighbors in her community.

It was while she was in eighth grade that her mother began to notice strange changes in Krissi’s appearance, from sudden weight gain to a buffalo hump at the base of her neck. After encouragement from family members, Susan took Krissi to the doctors for a checkup.

Krissi was immediately diagnosed with Cushing’s disease, meaning there was a tumor somewhere in her endocrine system.

After a successful surgery to remove the tumor, Krissi and her family were ready to move on and focus on Krissi beginning high school.

“There was a threat it could come back,” says Susan, “but there were no indications at the time that it had spread.”

Unbeknownst to them, however, the disease had spread. And several years later, it made a second appearance. This time it was in Krissi’s bones.

Krissi’s condition continued to deteriorate throughout her Senior year of High School.

“They told us that the cancer had invaded the bloodstream around her heart,” says Susan, “and she had just days to live.”

As a mother, Susan was heartbroken. All she could think about was the litany of milestones they should be celebrating as a family over the next few weeks. From all the excitement surrounding Graduation and parties to spending time with friends before moving on to college. Krissi would likely miss it all.

But that’s when the school stepped it.

On May 4, 2004, they brought the Graduation ceremony to Krissi. Hundreds of students and friends lined the streets outside Krissi’s home, while her family and officials from the school district gathered around her bedside.

A taping of Pomp and Circumstance, the official graduation melody, played while the Superintendent handed Krissi her diploma.

“You could hear shouts of congratulations from all over the neighborhood,” remembers Susan.

“Every single person came upstairs and kissed her,” she adds. “And she whispered something to each of them. Every once in a while, I’d hear her say, ‘I’m sorry to hear that, I’ll pray for you!’”

Not long after that day, Krissi lost her battle with cancer, three weeks after her 18th birthday. But her legacy of selflessness, her love for Christ, and her deep desire to help others is what most will never forget about Krissi Holman.

Since her daughter’s death, Susan has worked tirelessly to honor that legacy. At Children’s Medical Center, there is now a library in Krissi’s name. The Make-A-Wish Foundation offers an endowment in her name that grants a wish each year. And there is also now a scholarship at Highland Park High School that goes to a deserving senior from each graduating class.

In September 2015, Susan helped form Forever Moms at Highland Park United Methodist Church, a grief-support group for mothers who have lost children at any age, under any circumstance.

“Not many people outlive their child,” says Susan. “It makes me feel gratified that I can do something in her memory to help others, because that’s what she was all about.”