Remembering Lily: 'She Found Beauty In Everything And Everyone'

GREENDALE, WI — Lily Limbert, 14, a Greendale student and resident, died Tuesday, a week after nearly drowning in Lake Michigan on June 21.

Rescuers pulled Lily out of Lake Michigan at North Beach in Racine. She was brought to land where rescuers determined she was in critical condition. A Flight for Life took her to Children's Hospital. Lily died early Tuesday morning in the hospital's intensive care unit with her mother and family nearby.

"I think we are all still a little bit in shock and don't want to believe this is happening," Lily's aunt, Leslie Scott, told Patch. "Our family has been through a lot, as many families have and do, but this is something I would have never predicted."

Scott shared some memories of Lily with Patch. Throughout her life, Lily spoke about the goals she had for growing up. She wanted to start an animal sanctuary when she was older, her aunt said. Lily also wanted to go on a road trip with no set plan as soon as she got her driver's license.

Lily was also passionate about ensuring equal rights for everyone and wanted to get more involved in advocating for the LGBTQ+ community, her aunt said.

"One of her biggest achievements is that she truly touched the lives of everyone she met. She found beauty in everything and everyone," Scott said.

Lily had an assortment of hobbies. She played violin, sang and listened to music — her favorite being classic rock, according to Scott. Lily loved animals, rode horses and was into anything creative such as sewing, painting, drawing and crafts. A recent interest was taxidermy.

"Some may think it is odd for a teenage girl, but when my sister [Limbert's mother] asked her why taxidermy, Lily said, 'It was because it makes something beautiful out of death,'" Scott said.

That memory stuck with Scott throughout the tragedy as she looks for a silver lining.

"Watching my sister soak in every last moment she could, caring for and cuddling with my niece in her ICU bed," stood out to Scott as one of the beautiful moments in light of tragedy.

Scott also took comfort in the hospital staff, who she said were invested in learning about Lily and who she was.

"The amazing support we have received from not only friends and family, but people who didn't even know Lily," she said. "It is recognizing moments of beauty like those that have truly helped me."

"Lily made me an aunt, so meeting her and holding her for the first time will always be an awesome memory," Scott said.

On a recent trip to the zoo with her grandmother, Lily picked out a stuffed porcupine as a souvenir, her aunt said.

"Though she has been to the zoo millions of times, she still acted in awe and amazed by all of the animals," Scott said.

The stuffed porcupine accompanied Lily at the hospital. The porcupine and a stuffed cow provided some good conversation with the hospital staff as they learned about Lily's love of animals and tried to guess what the stuffed animal actually was.

The teen was also keen on arts and crafts. Scott recalled many occasions during which they worked on projects together. She was never afraid of a challenge, Scott said.

"One weekend, when Lily was spending time at my sister Lindsay's house, they decided to have a 'Hot Ones' challenge. Lily quickly volunteered to join in and tried all of the sauces," Scott said.

As Lily attempted the challenge that has people finding out just how much hot sauce heat they can handle, she nodded her head and with tears in her eyes said, "It's not that bad," Scott said.

Scott thanked community members, hospital staff and first responders who supported and prayed for her niece. Her family hoped that the dangers of drowning are taught more widely and encouraged everyone to advocate for such lessons to become part of school curricula.

"Just as we are taught from a young age to stop, drop and roll, we should be taught to flip, float and follow," Scott said.

"We would give anything to have another day with our Lily, and want to do anything we can to prevent this from happening to anyone else," Scott said.

A GoFundMe was set up to assist Lily's family with funeral expenses and hospital bills. Any donations that exceed those costs will be donated to Children's Hospital in Lily Limbert's name, Scott said.

"The Flight For Life Alone cost $35,000," the GoFundMe page said.

Editor's Note: GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.