'She was fearless:' Death of 12-year-old Lexi Payne saddens, unites Cameron community

MONMOUTH — Leave it to the youngest speaker at Saturday’s funeral service for 12-year-old Cameron resident Lexi Payne to get right to the heart of the matter on a very difficult day. Simply put, Lexi’s best friend, Kaycee Walters, said it best.

“Be kind and loving to one another, just the way Lexi taught us to do,” said Walters, speaking in front of a large assembly at Cameron Christian Church, where Lexi had been baptized last year by its pastor Jeff Nielsen.

On July 24, Alexandria M. Payne, the daughter of Jolleen and Nathaniel Payne of Cameron, died at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria after a life-long battle with asthma. She would have started her seventh-grade year at United Junior High School later this month.

Obituary:Alexandria M. " Lexi " Payne: 2010 ~ 2022

Wrote her mother, Jolleen, in a Facebook post, “(On) July 13, we woke to a nightmare that we haven’t been able to wake up from since. Lexi went into cardiac arrest at home.” Before arriving at the hospital, Lexi’s “heart was stopped for at least 23 minutes before they finally were able to bring her back.”

After Lexi was life-flighted to Peoria, there were, as her mother called them, a few “rays of hope,” but ultimately, swelling in her brain blocked those rays.

“They said the chances of her waking are not good, and if she did she wouldn’t be there,” wrote Jolleen. “She would live the rest of her life on machines in a comatose state. Lexi did not want this. So we decided to honor Lexi’s wishes.”

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That meant taking Lexi off life support, 11 days after the Payne family’s ordeal began. The moment was just hours away when Jolleen made her Facebook post.

“This is not the miracle we have been praying for unceasingly, but we did get 11 more days to hold her and love her and spend what time we can with her,” she concluded. “Today, we lose our miracle girl and gain our angel. Though we always knew she was an angel.”

Lexi a 'special gift' taken away too soon

Speaking to the congregation Saturday at his church, Nielsen said, “We come in sadness because Lexi left us way too soon, but we can rejoice in the special gift that she was and show our support and love for Jolleen and Nate and (sister) Rory during this difficult time.”

One reason it was difficult, he said, was because of the many different feelings triggered by such a tragic event.

“There are so many emotions — sadness and grief, but also joyful hearts because of God’s promise,” he said. “We are all hurting, and everyone is grieving. Things have not quite gone the way we expected and the way we prayed they would. Some of us are stunned and angry — just a host of emotions.”

In addition to Walters and Nielsen, Lexi’s father also addressed the congregation. He shared a Father’s Day card that Lexi made for him.

She wrote: “I love you so much, Dad. I hope you have a great Father’s Day. ... I know you think Father’s Day is just another day, but I wanted to make sure it’s a great day for you. I want you to always feel loved. I’ll always be here, no matter what.”

“Thank you all for coming,” Lexi’s father added. “The community we have here today helped mold Lexi into the person that she was.”

Young Harry Potter fan identified with Gryffindors

One way to describe Lexi was in the terminology of one of her favorite hobbies — the Harry Potter series. She associated with the fictional Gryffindors, who are known for being “courageous, daring, brave, fiercely loyal, intelligent and kind.”

“She liked Steak ’n Shake chili and homemade chili, playing sports, swimming in her backyard pool and being active, despite her lifelong struggles with asthma,” said Nielsen of the high honor roll student.

“She was going to go and do, and that’s what she did. Lexi was brave. She approached everything she did head-on. She was fearless.”

She also adored her baby sister Rory, said Jolleen.

“She was her pride and joy,” Jolleen said. “Lexi waited 12 years for her and only got seven months with her. They were inseparable from the moment they met.”

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What Lexi didn’t like, said Nielsen, were bullies.

“She wouldn’t stand for them. She had a strong sense of right and wrong. If you were Lexi’s friend — and she had a lot of them — you were a friend for good. Lexi had such a lovely soul. She just wanted to help and heal and nurture others.”

She wanted to become a pediatric nurse

That desire to help and heal was evident in her career aspirations and in an important decision she’d previously made.

“She came to us a couple years ago and asked about organ donation,” wrote Jolleen, who said Lexi’s career goal was to become a pediatric nurse “to help save lives of children” and help them work through their illnesses. “We explained organ donation to her, and she did not hesitate to say that that is what she wanted to do.

“This is how she can save those lives.”

“Once she learned what organ donation was, she was determined to do it,” Nielsen told the congregation. “That gift gave people hope.”

The Paynes’ neighbor, Wendi Hook, started a GoFundMe campaign to cover the cost of some of Lexi’s medical bills. To date, it’s raised more than $16,000. And the community turned out in large number Saturday afternoon for a fundraising auction, which was held at the Cameron ball diamond.

As Nielsen said during the funeral service, “My prayer is that the family will feel the tremendous outpouring of love that we have for you.”

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Cameron, IL girl who died from asthma remembered by family, friends