On September 24, Lewis lost a valued member of its community with the passing of Trinity Eadie, a freshman English major.
“In August, Trinity’s long-awaited dream of attending college became reality when she enrolled at Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois. She was warmly welcomed by the English department faculty and fellow students. She quickly formed meaningful relationships, including a special bond with her roommate, Sophia Grace Galvin,” said JoAnn Wooley-Dowdy, secretary of True Church House of Prayer, at Trinity’s funeral service.
Trinity expressed a desire to one day pursue a career as an English teacher by studying English and Education at Lewis. English had always been a passion of hers, and she was excited to finally have the opportunity to explore the fascinating subject in higher education.
Dr. Mardy Philippian, Professor of English Studies, met Trinity in August through his first-year student workshop for new English majors. As Dr. Philippian recounted, “She was already an effective writer with a strong voice, and in the four short papers she completed had much to say about how ‘empathy is oddly becoming scarce in times such as these,’ and that learning to be ‘gentle with others even in impossible situations and gaining the courage to be vocal about what you want’ is the beginning of empathy.”
Philippian further noted that Trinity “wrote compellingly about her reasons for pursuing a degree in English. She was unusually clear that, as she wrote, ‘from the moment’ she ‘picked up a pencil and paper, something special was already happening’ to her.”
“I feel the loss of who she was as a young writer and of the class discussions we will now never have,” Phillipian continued sorrowfully. “In one of her last sentences in my class, she wrote that her love of studying literature and writing ‘is who I am, what I do, and who I want to be and what my academic journey will hopefully look like.’”
In addition to English, Trinity loved pastel colors, Hello Kitty, and a variety of magical shows and video games. She enjoyed engaging in spirited conversations with others about her interests, often sprinkling her own thoughtful commentary into the mix.
While Trinity’s time at Lewis was tragically cut short, President David Livingston stated that “her family shared that she loved her experience here.” Trinity possessed an admirable sense of optimism that allowed her to make light of her own life and uplift others, a quality that is missed immensely by her peers and professors. Her bubbly personality and infectious smile are surely never to be forgotten by those who knew her.
Trinity’s services were held Saturday, October 11, at True Church House of Prayer, 6710 S. May Street in Chicago. A viewing took place at 10:00 a.m., and a service followed shortly afterward at 11:00 a.m.
Loved ones gathered to honor the kind-heartedness, intelligence and enthusiasm that shaped her to be a gem of a person.
It is unmistakable that Lewis’ community has been left grieving in the wake of Trinity’s loss to her battle with cancer. Ultimately, her presence on campus has been sorely missed over the course of these past few months by both students and staff who had the fortune of meeting her.
