Claire Wallis Richards

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Richards, Claire Wallis born 16 February 1990, died 6 July 2014 of melanoma. She was 24 years old. Claire grew up in Uptown Minneapolis. Following graduation from Southwest High School in 2008, Claire matriculated to Boston University, earning her degree in physics in 2011 and the friendship and respect of many. Claire was a Research Assistant at the Immune Disease Institute/Boston Children's Hospital. Claire moved to Chicago in August 2013 to begin medical school at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Clair was diagnosed with melanoma in June 2010 while a student at BU. Following surgery, Claire was cancer-free until an isolated tumor was discovered and removed in January 2013. In October 2013, a systemic reoccurrence was observed that proved to be both aggressive and resistant to the rapidly evolving treatments of immunotherapy and targeted therapies. Claire's passions included performing and listening to music, swing dancing and mathematics. Claire is survived by her parents, Gail Manning and David Richards of Minneapolis; brother Hayden Richards, also of Minneapolis; exchange siblings Xav of Ernage, Belgium; Agnese of Riga, Latvia; aunts and uncles John and Chris Richards of Longview, Washington; Marc and Viola Richards of Brookings, SD; Joan (Manning) and Howard George of Worden, MT; Neal Buechler of Bismarck, ND; Jackie (Manning) and Arend Flick of Pasadena, CA; Judy (Manning) and Dan Cabrera of Glendale, CA; Karin (Manning) and Billy Talbot of Zeona, SD; Loah (Manning) and Jim Clement of Mandan, ND; Dean and Katie Manning of Hettinger, ND; 26 wonderful first cousins; and a large extended family stretching across four time zones, three generations, two families and one shared love for Claire. With friends from Minneapolis, Boston, Chicago, Chile, Korea, The Netherlands, China, Australia and Israel, TEAM CLAIRE was truly a global force for hope, love, and strength. Claire's Memorial Service will be Friday, 11 July 2014 at 5:00 pm at First Universalist Church, 3400 Dupont Avenue South, Minneapolis. Memorials will be directed to the Stay Out of the Sun Foundation, which exists to fund melanoma research and education at the Mayo Clinic. Twin Cities Cremation 612-866-6711

Published on July 9, 2014