Local couple honoring daughter’s memory by inviting community to serve others

IDAHO FALLS – There are two dates on Ed and Mary Grampp’s calendar that will always be noteworthy.

On Feb. 19, 2012, their daughter, McKaylee, was born. Three and a half years later, on Aug. 12, 2015, McKaylee took her last breath in an automobile accident.

On Sunday, the Rexburg couple will be celebrating what would’ve been McKaylee’s 11th birthday. In anticipation of that somber occasion, Mary shared with EastIdahoNews.com the story of her daughter’s death and the special way they honor her every year.

She and her husband were living in Burbank, California at that time, and were expecting their fourth child. Ed was pulling into the driveway at the end of the work day and McKaylee was eagerly awaiting his arrival.

“Our driveway was on a slope and we shared an underground garage (with our neighbors). She was running down the driveway and he was just about to go into the garage. I told her she could go see her dad now because I thought he had parked already,” Mary says.

As Ed was pulling into the garage, Mary explains there was a sun glare because it was late in the afternoon. He didn’t see McKaylee and accidentally ran over her.

Mary heard her husband scream and as she started running towards the garage, she felt like her water had broke.

Two ambulances arrived at the house a short time later — one to take McKaylee to the hospital and the other to transport Mary. Upon learning that her unborn child was ok, Mary walked into the room where McKaylee had been taken and heard doctors officially declare her daughter was dead.

Several months before McKaylee was born, Ed had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He’d just recently finished treatment and had come to terms with his condition and was now forced to deal with another heartbreaking tragedy.

“She was such a huge part of his treatment journey,” Mary says.

As Mary looks back on the days and weeks after McKaylee’s passing, she recalls being surrounded by friends and loved ones. There were difficult days, but the love they felt from others was a strength and comfort to them, she says, and it helped them get through it a lot quicker than they otherwise would have.

“A couple days after the accident, our home was flooded with so many loved ones. My mom said, ‘Let’s step away for a minute.’ We were going to the store and I remember getting out of the car and looking at everyone walking by. It felt like our world was completely frozen but everyone else was going about their daily life,” says Mary. “Immediately it hit me that I don’t know what they’re going through.”

That led them to start an annual tradition to honor their daughter in a special way. The couple have dubbed Feb. 19 — McKaylee’s birthday — as Angel Day, and they use the occasion to encourage others to do something nice for someone else.

“She had such a light about her. Even though she was only three and a half, she had such maturity and kindness,” Mary says of her deceased daughter. “We feel like she wants us to spend her birthday finding ways to serve others.”

It’s been rewarding for them to see how this tradition has positively impacted others, and they’ve connected with so many people over the years as a result.

Moving forward in Rexburg

Three years after McKaylee’s death, the Grampps felt inspired to move to Rexburg where Mary and Ed first met as students at Brigham Young University-Idaho. The idea was to escape the fast pace of Los Angeles in favor of a more secluded, slower lifestyle while Ed continued his cancer treatments.

“He has Glioblastoma, which is considered the most aggressive brain tumor in adults. Most patients survive only months,” says Mary. “It’s been almost 11 years (since his diagnosis). It’s a miracle. He’s surpassed all the statistics. He’s in the top 1% of patients that survive this (condition) for this long.”

Though his cancer is still inoperable, they’re holding out for another miracle that might include a full recovery for Ed. Meanwhile, the couple recently relocated McKaylee’s grave from the Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills Cemetery in California to the Rexburg Cemetery.

Mary was recently awarded the title of Mrs. Rexburg and she’ll be participating in the Mrs. Idaho America Pageant in June.

Ed has worked as a film animator for many years and he’s created a full-length feature film about McKaylee, which he’s hoping will be picked up by a major studio soon.

“Creating this has been very therapeutic in his grieving process,” Mary explains.

Mary says they’ve had many experiences over the years where they’ve felt their daughter’s presence and they’re grateful to honor her memory by inviting others to do acts of kindness.

“We like to say a smile can go a long way. I think a lot of times people feel like they have to do this huge thing to show kindness, but it’s the simple things that really mean the most,” she says.