Sydney Jean Mead – Ball-Davis Funeral Home

Our precious Sydney Jean finished her work here on earth and went to be with her Heavenly Father, December 31, 2024 at Children’s Hospital in St. Louis, MO, she was surrounded by the ones that loved her the most. Sydney was born October 23, 2003 in Hannibal Missouri to Rick and Jenny Mead.

She took her middle name from the strongest woman in her life, her great grandma Barbara Jean. She used this strength throughout her life. At a very young age she always made sure her big brothers were staying in line. She also made sure they knew what they were supposed to be doing and who she would be telling if they were not. She and Elijah were so close in age he became accustomed to following all her instructions and simply answering with, “Okay Baba!” He remained wrapped around her finger until her very last breath. Years later she was blessed with a baby sister to mother, which took some of the pressure off of Elijah. Hannah did well to listen to her big sister and follow most of her rules until the day she realized they were actually best friends. They remain that way to this very day.

Sydney was a happy healthy little girl, until May 2007, when she was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at three years old. She fought this battle over the next two and a half years with the bravery, courage, and strength of an adult. She never complained about her pain, nausea, treatments, or surgeries. Once finished with treatment, she lived life to the fullest. She excelled at sports, playing softball, basketball, and dominating track and field day. She was outgoing, silly, and always making people laugh. Sydney relapsed in November 2014 and again bravely faced two and a half years of intense treatment, this time spending the majority of the time getting treatment inpatient. This kept her away from her friends and activities for long periods of time, but blessed her parents with long periods of one on one time with Sydney. She had wonderful friends that supported her throughout this illness. Once she finished this treatment, she was eager to get back to her life, friends, and sports.

She started having joint pain. After many tests, we were informed her treatments had caused avascular necrosis of her hips, shoulders, and ankles. She spent the next 18 months having seven joint surgeries, one after the other. As soon as one joint healed enough to move on, she would go to surgery to repair the next. This is a perfect example of Sydney’s strength and determination. After developing the joint pain, but before being diagnosed, she ran the mile under the recommended time for physical fitness testing. She had some pain and swelling after running, but only mentioned it, never complained much. We got a call from her doctor with results and they asked if she was still able to walk due to the extreme damage already done to her hips. We responded with, “Yes, she just ran a mile.” She again tried to resume a normal life for the next year after her joint replacements.

In January 2019, she again relapsed. This time conventional treatment no longer worked, so she tried a brand new treatment called Car-T cell therapy. She was the third kid to receive this therapy at Children’s Hospital. She had retained her Car-T cells longer than anyone to date at Children’s Hospital. After her Car-T cell therapy, Sydney excelled at life. She was successful with everything she did. She was no longer able to play sports, but she didn’t let that get her down. She joined color guard, and cheerleading for football and basketball. She was also active in student council and national honors society. She was court warming queen her senior year. She graduated with a 3.98 GPA, even with all of the school she had missed for her many doctor visits, hospitalizations, physical therapy, surgeries, and treatments. Sydney had big dreams and aspirations. She was a junior at Culver Stockton College, she was a pre-med bio-chem major. She wanted to be an anesthesiologist. Throughout her years, she learned that the anesthesiologist always helped her feel better and took away her pain. She wanted to be the one to do that for other children. She was a member of the Chi Omega sorority and the president of the Red Cross.

She met David Miller and fell in love for the first time. David didn’t leave her side throughout her entire illness and gave her endless love and support. Sydney kept her body in excellent shape. She worked hard to build muscle to help with her joint pain. With the help of her dad and brother, Elijah, she became an avid bodybuilder. She spent hours in the gym pumping the iron, followed by no less than an hour of cardio afterwards. She demonstrated her determination and discipline by being in the gym almost every day then coming home to eat scrambled eggs in order to meet her protein goal. Sydney had a strong faith in God. She had an inner peace that no one could understand. Only by God’s Grace was she able to demonstrate such calmness under such stress. She recently sent a snapchat picture to our family group chat smiling with her face so swollen she could barely speak. The caption read “Smile Every Day”. That exemplifies her entire life. Sydney bravely fought and beat cancer four times. She died cancer free but was overcome by the side effects of the treatment.

Sydney was loved by everyone that ever met her and even some that never got to meet her. She brought more people to Christ through prayer in her short 21 years than most do in their lifetime. Sydney was the most amazing person. She was strong, smart, beautiful, kind, faithful, and determined. She exceeded and excelled at everything she did. She overcame every obstacle thrown at her with grace and bravery. She never let anything get her down. Throughout her lifelong health obstacles she stayed focused on what she wanted for her future. Sydney Jean was loved by everyone who met her, and her endless kindness and bright light was noticed by everyone she encountered.

She is survived by her loving parents, Rick and Jenny Mead, her siblings, Ethan (Elizabeth) Mead, Elijah (Devan) Mead, and Hannah Mead. Her boyfriend and first true love, David Miller. Her beloved puppy, Nova, who spent so many hours laying by her side while providing comfort and love. Niece and Nephew Veronika and Dominik Mead. Grandparents Dennis Hedges, Sandy and Denny Meehan. Aunt and Uncles Kelly Mead, Melissa (Brian) Kaylor, Jake (Erin) Hedges, Josh (Danielle) Hedges. Cousins Shelby (Dalton) Rockhold, Ashley Kaylor, Wyatt Collins, Jace, Dawson, Dayn, and Elin Hedges, Hadley, Kennady, and Emersyn Hedges. Numerous Great aunts/uncles and cousins. She was preceded in death by her Great Grandparents Kenneth and Barbara Cramsey, Vernon and Ann McClure and grandparents Rick and Ileen Mead.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday, January 7, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Ewing with Pastor Gabe Hoener officiating. Burial will be in La Belle Cemetery, La Belle, MO. Visitation will be held Monday, January 6, 2025 from 3:00 until 9:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church in Ewing.

The family suggests memorials be made to the Sydney Mead Memorial Fund for a later designation in care of Ball-Davis Funeral Home, P.O. Box 273, Ewing, MO 63440