Funeral held for Gurnee crash victim

Pastor Joe Boerman said that while she may have been only 15, Taylor Mae Stinchcomb had lived the life of most 70-year-olds.

The sentiment rang true with hundreds of mourners who gathered Saturday for the Gurnee teen's life celebration service, which transformed the Immanuel Church auditorium into a sea of lime green — a nod to Taylor's favorite color.

Though friends and family openly wept for the Warren Township High School student, who died Tuesday morning in a car crash with her beloved dog Romulus, they also laughed, sang and cheered for the girl described as a fearless spitfire whose honesty and wisdom were unparalleled for her age.

“She was always a take charge kind of a girl, full of life and full of such passion,” Heather Welch said, recalling how Taylor loved to taste test and concoct new drinks as a junior barista at the church coffee bar.

Taylor's passions came through in just about every aspect of the service, from tables lined with softball and basketball trophies to a performance of a rap that Taylor wrote called “Listen to Him.”

There also was a recording of Taylor's own baptism from just two months ago.

In the video, which ran on two jumbo screens for all in the auditorium to see, Taylor told her peers that she went through a dark time in seventh grade and shut God out of her life after her brother moved out of the house to live with his dad.

But after some time, reflection and a youth retreat, Taylor said she prayed for God to come back into her heart and accepted him as her savior.

“I handed my problems over to Him so I didn't have to go through them alone,” she said. “Praying that one prayer turned my life upside right and from that point on I didn't push God out of my life when things got hard.”

She'd been heavily involved in her church ever since, taking part in Bible study, sports teams and youth groups.

Taylor's uncle read aloud a letter on behalf of parents Bill and Lee Ann Stinchcomb, who wrote how blessed and privileged they were in raising their daughter. They emphasized her love of the Lord, friends, family and animals.

It was because of Taylor's immense love for her dog that she sought comfort in a friend late Monday night. Upset Romulus had been diagnosed with cancer and might be euthanized, Taylor took him and the family minivan out without permission.

She was distraught and asked her 15-year-old friend to drive, and at 12:45 a.m. the vehicle crashed into trees and a utility pole on Almond Road near Grayslake. The friend was treated and released at the scene, while Taylor and her dog died.

Taylor made a risky decision and acted without the forethought they had hoped she would have had, her parents wrote.

“But the fact remains she was only 15, and no 15-year-old makes the right decision every time,” they wrote. “None of us are perfect, and that's why we need God's grace.”

They asked for understanding and compassion, which is exactly what Taylor would have naturally offered.

“We ask all parents, of teens especially, to just love on (your children) and celebrate them everyday,” they wrote. “Don't take a single day for granted.”