Hope Mae Oderwald

Hope is what we have to live by. Hope gives us strength. Hope tells us that we have brighter days ahead. Hope shows us that our true spirits live eternally…………………. on Friday, May 31, 2019, at the age of 20, Hope Mae Oderwald went to be with her Lord. A visitation will be held from 4:00 – 7:00, Friday, June 7, 2019 at Law-Jones Funeral Home, Savanna. A funeral service will be held at 7:00 p.m., following the visitation at the funeral home. Cremation rites will be accorded following the funeral service. Burial of her cremated remains will take place in Savanna Township Cemetery at a later date. A memorial fund has been established in Hope’s memory.

Hope was known to her family as “the miracle child,” overcoming challenges her whole life. At the early age of two months, she stopped breathing and was saved by a monitor. At the age of two years, she was diagnosed with physical and mental challenges. When Hope was 15 years old, she was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer. She almost lost her life during chemotherapy at the age of 16. Hope has had an uphill climb all of her life, but chose to persevere with a positive spirit. One of her proudest moments included graduating with the Class of 2018 from West Carroll High School in Savanna. Hope worked hard in everything she did, and while in high school she volunteered to work in the kitchen in order to help others. When she played baseball, she was affectionately known as the “Dugout Princess”. She had a drive to be productive and always had a great attitude. Hope loved Care Bear collectibles—especially her bedtime bear. Some of her best times, were just being with family, and she especially enjoyed her talks with her mom, Maggie.

Hope will be dearly missed and remembered by her mother and stepfather, Maggie (Tom) Spittler of Savanna; her father, Shawn Oderwald, Sr. of Colona, Illinois; five siblings, Shawn Oderwald, Jr, Evelyn Joe Ehredt, Dakota Michael Oderwald of Clinton, Iowa, Kezra Harbon of Fulton, and Landon Mark Oderwald of Colona; her paternal grandfather, Jeff Oderwald, Sr. of Clinton; her maternal grandmother, Juanita (Jimmy) Arp of Georgia; and her maternal great-grandmothers, Juanita Lenson and Crystal Ehredt both of Savanna.

Hope is preceded in death by an infant sister, Dakota Jean Ehredt in 1995; her maternal grandpa, Joe Ehredt; her paternal grandma, Sally Oderwald; a step grandma, Vicky Bumphrey; her maternal and paternal great grandparents; and one cousin, Emma Galloway