MCCABE, Lara A. 2002-2007

MCCABE, KANTER, GARDNER, JOHNSON, LOSH

Posted By: S. Bell
Date: 8/5/2012 at 16:17:12

Lara A. McCabe (2002-2007)

CEDAR FALLS - Lara A. McCabe, 5, of Cedar Falls, died Tuesday, Nov. 20 at Lahey Clinic in Peabody, Mass.

She was born January 13, 2002, in Waterloo, daughter of Travis and Amanda McCabe. She was a Kindergarten student at North Cedar Elementary School.

Survivors include: her parents, Travis and Amanda of Cedar Falls; paternal grandparents John and Karen McCabe of Cedar Falls; maternal grandparents, Allan and Rita Losh, of Cedar Falls; aunt and uncle, Katherine and John Kanter of Ipswitch, MA, uncle, Josh McCabe of Cedar Falls, aunt, Karri McCabe of Cedar Falls, uncle, Ryan McCabe of Kansas City, KS, and aunt and uncle, Christy and Tim Gardner of Cedar Falls; cousins, Zack and Jacob Gardner and Ethan Kanter; maternal great grandparents, Gib and June Johnson of Cedar Falls; maternal great grandfather, Albert Losh of Lander, WY; and paternal great grandparents, Merlyn and Maryann McCabe of Cedar Falls

Services: 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 27, 2007 at Prairie Lakes Church in Cedar Falls, with cremation following the service. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday at the Richardson Funeral Home in Cedar Falls.

Memorial has been established.

[Source: Richardson Funeral Home, Cedar Falls, Iowa]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Waterloo Courier, Saturday, November 24, 2007]
By Jon Ericson, Courier Staff Writer

Family gives thanks
for 5-year-old's love

C. F. girl conquers heart problem, but dies of viral illness

CEDAR FALLS - It had been a year fit for a princess.

Laura McCabe started kindergarten, whore she was thrilled at the opportunity to go to school with the "big kids." She ran and played and laughed and took a big bite out of life's smorgasbord.

In September she went to Disney World.

For Thanksgiving, Lara joined her mother and grandmother in flying to Massachusetts for a girls trip, where they would meet up with her aunt.

And, at the age of 5, it marked the first year of her life where Lara hadn't spent significant chunks of time in the hospital.

Surgery last December addressed a genetic heart condition Lara had struggled with since birth. It granted her the life of a normal girl about to start school.

On Tuesday, Lara died of an unrelated viral illness.

For much of her life, Lara was either preparing for or recovering from another surgery. She suffered from subaortic membrane deficiency. Lara survived two open heart surgeries before her first birthday. A third surgery followed in 2003.

The most recent surgery transplanted a pig valve to replace her own. By all accounts, it had been a tremendous success.

"She slowly but surely regained her strength and was better than ever," said Rita Losh, Lara's grandmother.

A September checkup with Lara's doctor, Samir Chandra, showed her heart was doing so well, he couldn't imagine any surgeries being necessary, most likely, until she was a teenager.

Earlier in the year she had traveled to Ames to help put a face on the work of the Children's Miracle Network for a benefit broadcast for that charity.

Lara had a lust for life that rubbed off on those around her. Losh remembers seeing Lara eat toast and jelly upside down.

"She said, 'That way my tongue can taste the jelly.' It was just so common sense for her," Losh said.

Lara spent much of her time entertaining her family.

"She was the glue that bonded our family together," said her mother, Amanda McCabe.

In September, Lara traveled to Florida with the Magical Mix Kids. The 5-year-old believed in magic, and the trip proved enchanted for her.

Her father, Travis, lifted her atop his shoulders for a prime view of the parade.

Lara liked to pretend she was a princess and lived that to the hilt in Orlando. She was greeted by Disney characters as "your highness," a title she struggled with at first, saying, "You know, I'm not a real princess."

"She was just a funny kid, always trying to entertain. She just thought she was hilarious - and she was," Losh said.

Last Saturday, Lara joined her mother, Amanda, and grandmother to make a girls-only trip to Massachusetts to see her aunt and cousin.

Black Hawk Obituaries maintained by Karen De Groote.
WebBBS 4.33 Genealogy Modification Package by WebJourneymen