Olivia Grace Williams

Olivia Grace Williams was born on July 28, 2016, and took her last breath on September 22, 2026. In the ten years between those two moments, Olivia filled our lives with more love, laughter, courage, creativity, and light than we could ever have imagined.

Her brilliant light touched everyone fortunate enough to know her. She leaves behind a family and a community who will miss her beyond words, but who will carry the gift of her life with them forever.

From the very beginning, Olivia was a force to be reckoned with. She came into the world screaming and never stopped letting you know exactly what she needed to be heard. She knew who she was. She knew what she believed. And she was never afraid to tell you.

Smarter than any adult could ever compete with, Liv would go toe-to-toe with you over what was true and what was right. She had an uncanny ability to see things clearly, and she always had the words to tell you exactly what she thought. Yet somehow, even when she was correcting you, she did it with kindness. She never wanted to hurt anyone. She simply wanted things to be right.

And then there was her wit. Liv could leave you speechless with an unexpected retort, only to have everyone laughing moments later.

She was a leader—not because she demanded to be, but because people naturally followed her. She was fair, thoughtful, sensitive, and remarkably people-smart. She knew when someone needed a laugh, when someone needed encouragement, and when someone simply needed to know they weren’t alone.

She was the kind of friend everyone wanted and, at the same time, the kind of person everyone longed to be.

Liv noticed people.

If she saw something in a store that reminded her of you, she might buy it months before your birthday because she already knew it belonged to you. She remembered the little things. She made people feel known. She made people feel loved.

And perhaps nowhere was that love more profound than in her relationship with her sister, Isabel.

Although Isabel was the older sister, there were times when Liv seemed to be the big sister. She had a wisdom far beyond her years and an instinct to offer advice, encouragement, and perspective when Isabel needed it. Liv adored her sister. She protected her. She looked out for her. She loved her with a depth that words can hardly capture.

The bond between Olivia and Isabel was extraordinary – deep, fierce, and unbreakable. They were sisters, but they were also best friends, confidantes, and each other’s safe place. Their connection was something special, built over a lifetime of shared laughter, shared experiences, and a love that neither time nor circumstance could ever take away.

Isabel will carry that bond with her always. She will carry Liv’s voice, her advice, her laughter, and all the little moments that belonged only to the two of them. And though Olivia is no longer here in the way they both wished she could be, the love between these sisters will never end.

That was one of the extraordinary things about Olivia: she loved deeply, and when she loved you, she loved you completely.

She brought that same heart to her school and her community. She wrote her school’s fight song. In her own words, as a Tomahawk, she was brave, fearless, and bold.

And she lived those words.

When she couldn’t be at school with her classmates, Liv recorded videos for them so they wouldn’t feel alone without her. Even when she was going through something herself, she was thinking about the people around her.

That was Liv.

She was endlessly creative. Give her a Smash Cancer T-shirt, and she could turn it into hair scarves, creating a completely unique design on every one. Her artwork was displayed in the hospital art show. She could create a sculpture on a whim. She saw possibility where other people saw ordinary things.

And she loved music.

While inpatient, Liv learned to play the ukulele. If you were lucky enough to sit in on one of her concerts, you heard a lovely singing voice—and, of course, you might also hear her rapping Hamilton lyrics. She did it all with the confidence and personality that made everything she touched unmistakably hers.

Liv was also a self-proclaimed soccer star and a natural athlete. She was a die-hard Purdue fan. Last year, her love of sports and her love of art came together when she had the incredible opportunity to design Coach Painter’s sneakers for the Hammer Down Cancer game.

She didn’t just participate. She made a difference.

Through that effort, Liv helped raise more than $1,700 for cancer research, proving once again that she was the ultimate Boilermaker.

She loved all animals, too, but none quite like her best friend, Fred the Fish.

And then came the past nine months.

Our Liv faced the unimaginable.

She faced it with a bravery and grace that left everyone around her in awe. She unabashedly rocked a buzz cut for her 10th birthday. She learned the ukulele while inpatient. She continued to make art, sing, laugh, create, and care for the people she loved.

She kept finding ways to live.

She kept finding ways to give.

She kept finding ways to be Liv.

That is what we will remember most.

Not simply the difficult days, but the girl who filled those days with her extraordinary spirit.

Liv was a gift.

She was funny and kind. Brilliant and creative. Fierce and tender. Thoughtful beyond her years. She was a special soul, and we did not get nearly enough time with her.

But perhaps the measure of a life isn’t only found in the number of years we’re given.

Sometimes it is found in what we leave behind.

And Olivia left behind so much.

She left behind laughter that will still make us smile years from now. She left behind artwork that will remind us how she saw the world. She left behind songs and stories and gifts chosen months in advance. She left behind the courage to speak up for what is right and the kindness to do it without tearing anyone down.

She left behind a lesson in how to show up for other people, even when life is hard.

And she left us two words that somehow capture exactly who she was:

LIVe STRONG.

Live strong in the way she laughed.

Live strong in the way she loved.

Live strong in the way she stood up for what was right.

Live strong in the way she made people feel seen.

Live strong in the way she created beauty from ordinary things.

Live strong in the way she faced the unimaginable.

The strength of her laughter.

The strength of her wit.

The strength of her courage.

The strength of her kindness.

The strength of her character.

That is Olivia’s legacy.

Her life was far too short, but it was never small.

Olivia Grace Williams made an enormous imprint in just ten years. She changed the people who knew her. She made us laugh harder, love deeper, notice more, and try a little harder to be the people she believed we could be.

Her light was brilliant.

It still is.

And it will live on—in her family, in her sister Isabel, in her friends, in her school, in her art, in every teammate she inspired, in every person she made feel loved, and in every person who chooses to LIVe STRONG because she showed us how.

Forever our Liv.

Forever Isabel’s little sister—and sometimes her big sister, too.

Forever our Tomahawk.

Forever our teammate.

Forever our girl.

LIVe STRONG.

Visitation will be held from 3:00 pm until the time of service at 5:00 pm on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at Soller-Baker Lafayette Chapel, 400 Twyckenham Blvd. Lafayette, IN 47909. Interment will follow.

Donations in Olivia’s name may be made to

give.littlereddoor.org/Olivia