Obituaries

Kaya Ann Wilson passed away peacefully in the loving arms of her parents on the evening of December 2, 2016 at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She was born on September 7th of this year at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. She was born with a full head of beautiful hair and wide inquisitive eyes. She announced her arrival in this world with a loud cry.  A beautiful baby, she looked just like her sisters. She was born glowing with life, even though terminal cancer was growing throughout her tiny body.

Her arrival in the NICU at Ruby Memorial charmed nurses and hospital staff, who brought her extra pillows to make her bed soft and bows to put in her hair. Kaya liked to squeeze her mother’s fingers and to watch faces around her, and she fought like a warrior. Surrounded by love from family and medical staff, Kaya’s determination and bravery changed every life that came into contact with hers.

Although her life with her family was short, she confounded everyone who met and loved her by her tenacity, courage, and the fierce clarity of her spirit. Kaya’s sisters love to fly to Trinidad to visit their extended family; though Kaya was never able to travel to Trinidad with them, she did experience the adventure of flight that her sisters love when she was flown from Ruby Memorial to the NICU at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, where her parents fought to get her the best care she could access.

Kaya was so loved before she was born that she fought a monumental struggle to be here and to meet her family who was waiting for her. She was determined to come into the world, to know her family, and be loved, and she conquered cancer for three months to do exactly that. She grabbed her life and wrestled with it. She amazed medical practitioners, family, and friends with her ability to outlive every prediction medical technology had for her. She loved her mother singing to her, her father talking to her, and time that she spent with her sisters while at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.  Kaya’s star shone just briefly while within her human body.  In those three months, it shone so brightly that we know she is watching over her family –  her loving parents, Rosemarie and Brandon Wilson (who reside in Clarksburg, WV), her doting sisters, Amilya and Jade Wilson, her maternal and paternal grandparents, Stephanie Scott, Ignatius Scott, Miriam Wilson, and Evans Wilson, Jr. (respectively), and so many loving aunts, uncles, and cousins in the United States and in Trinidad and Tobago.

Her family and friends all over the world mourn her departure, and are full of deep gratitude for the time she spent with us. When we make our way to meet her in another home, she has already made it clear she will be there to welcome us.

Family and friends may call at the Amos Carvelli Funeral Home, 201 Edison Street on Thursday from 4:00 to 7:00 pm, where a prayer service will be held at 6:30 to conclude the visitation. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at the Imacculate Conception Catholic Church on Friday, December 9, 2016 at 10:00 am to honor Kaya’s life, with Reverend Father Casey Mahone as Celebrant.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to https://www.gofundme.com/in-memory-of-kaya-wilson to help the family absorb the costs of an extensive hospital stay.

Expressions of sympathy may be extended to the family at www.amoscarvelli.com.  A service of Amos Carvelli Funeral Home.