Remembering Grace

About Gracie.

To know Gracie was to love Gracie. Gracie had a love for all things: softball, family, friends, little ones, and special education. Her personality was like no other, and she stood out in any situation. Her smile would make someone’s day, and her laugh would fill a room. She was ambitious and gave everything she did her best shot. Nothing could bring Gracie down; she was confident, but always remained humble.

Gracie was the starting catcher for the University of South Carolina - Union fastpitch softball team. After her freshman season at Union she was rewarded First Team All-Region. Before going off to college, Gracie was a student at Lancaster High School while also being part of the softball team there. She played six years of varsity softball and was the starting catcher on the varsity squad for four of those years. During her high school career, Gracie was awarded All-Region, All-State, District Player of the Year, and participated in the North-South All Star Game. She had a true love for the game of softball and gave every game her all. She was looked up to by so many and kept her team going. She was a leader on the field but also a leader in life.

Gracie’s dream was to graduate college with a degree in special education and work as a teacher in the special education field. Her gift was to give, and she had a true passion for enriching the lives of others, so everyone knew that this would have been the perfect career for her.

Overall, Gracie lived big, loved big, and gave big. She lived a life we should all strive to live. She put anyone and everyone before herself and never hesitated to help someone in need. Through this foundation, we can continue to share her love for others and continue to give to others the way she did. We love you, G.

#LiveLikeGrace

My Daughter.

From the day you were born we knew you were different; special. Busting into this world on your own schedule with your own mindset. You excelled at all you did, breaking rules, breaking boundaries, and always making your own way. You excelled at softball, had a spirit and drive that no one could touch. You brought life to the game, your smiles and laughter were contagious every where you went. You didn’t see color, social standing, or even wealth; you saw friendship and love. You touched so many people in your 20 years here, your smile would light up a room and your laughter and jokes never ended. If I could sum up your life in one sentence, it would be, live like today is your last day, be your best YOU and no one else.

Thank you for being that child, daughter, friend, and teammate to everyone that you were… but most of all thank you for being GRACIE.

-Connie Revels

My Little Sister.

Who is Grace?

Well for starters she is the most wonderful person you would ever meet. She is honest, loving and a joy to be around. Anyone who knows her knows she is the best auntie, sister, and would have made a wonderful mother. She makes every room she walks in brighter and every smile bigger. Gracie is someone you were lucky to know and can’t ever forget. One of my favorite memories with her has to be all of them. I could never choose just one. She is so remarkable and it’s hard to lose someone like that. My sister is an inspiration to others to not care what society says and to be yourself. So, with that being said, I want this foundation to help people who embody that same personality and take on life. Her loving sister, Savannah.

-Savannah Revels

My Big Sis.

I don’t even know where to start. Grace was everything in one crazy little package. She would do anything you dared her to. The love for softball she had was unbelievable. I can’t think of a favorite memory. They are all so great in their own way. Grace was the type of person that just made you smile. The one thing I want this foundation to do is spread love, laughter, and life among others. She was like my best friend. Whenever I needed something or someone she was always there. When I was a baby, she acted like my momma, she would carry me around everywhere and as I grew older it turned into me carrying her everywhere. She taught me how to dress up and look decent, I would always look like a bum before. When I needed clothes she would always buy me so many. I have so many pairs of shoes she bought me just because they were my size. Christmas was by far her favorite holiday, she would spend so much money on everyone making sure they all had something. I can’t think of enough good things to say about Grace.

-Josh Revels

My Best Friend.

Gracie was the kind of friend everyone wants in their life and the type of friend everyone should strive to be. Selfless, dependent, trustworthy, loyal, loving, forgiving… I could go on and on. She was truly my best friend and nobody will ever be able to replace the role she played in my life. She was always the first person to check on me and even my family and offer her help if we needed it. Gracie was truly the most reliable and the most special friend I’ve ever had. She became a second sister to me, a bonus sister to my sister, and a third daughter to my parents. We spent practically everyday together during our last two years of high school and even helped each other move into college. But the time we spent together was not the important part, the memories we made, the laughs we shared, and the impact she made on my life and the lives of others is what I will never forget.

Gracie tackled life with full force, she gave everything she did her all, she enjoyed every moment, and most importantly she loved everyone. She touched the lives of so many people and gave many a reason to keep taking another step forward, and that’s what life is all about. Her smile and laugh truly lit up any room she was in. She was full of compassion and was always the first person to ask if someone needed help. She would have taken the shirt off of her back for literally anyone and all of these things are what I admired so much about her.

Just being around Grace changed me for the better. She brought me out of my comfort zone and showed me how much spreading love can show so many people a light in this world and bring encouragement to so many. Most of my favorite memories are memories I made with Grace. We may have gotten ourselves in trouble a few times, but I wouldn’t go back and change it for the world. She was one of the craziest people I knew, but she was so full of compassion and love. Gracie was one of those people you just always enjoyed being around. She was always happy, even if she had many reasons not to be; she was always laughing, always uplifting, full of energy, and just always living life to the fullest. She would take up for anyone she cared about and I knew without a doubt she always had my back. She was always my encourager and would never let me be down. She helped me make decisions and she always supported me and I will never be able to thank her enough for that. I miss talking to her everyday, I miss her random facetime calls, shocking snapchats, going to her softball games, her randomly coming to Clemson at 7pm on a Wednesday night, I just miss my best friend. But, as I have to continue life without her by my side, I will try to continue to tackle life the way she did. Love big, encourage others, help others, find joy in every moment, and try to be the light in the lives of others. I hope to change people’s lives the way she did and hopefully part of that can be done through this foundation. #LiveLikeGrace.

— Ashley Abbott

My Third Daughter.

Grace Revels is someone I will never forget. I first met Gracie playing softball with our youngest daughter, Ashley. Gracie was about 7 and she stood out because of her athletic ability. As she grew up, her softball skills continued to improve and her personality grew. She taught me a lot of things about how to live life and live it well. Grace lived her life fearlessly, with love and happiness, and without regrets. Her smile would brighten the whole room and seemed to bring happiness to everyone. I am so grateful that God allowed her to spend time with our family. We will forever be able tell Gracie stories to each other and our friends that will make us laugh, sometimes cry, but always bring smiles. I can only hope that my life will impact so many people in a positive way like Gracie's life impacted mine and countless others. And I hope that we can use this foundation to continue touching lives in a positive way while honoring Gracie’s life and introducing many more people to this wonderful young lady. #LiveLikeGrace

-Jimmy Abbott

My BONUS Daughter.

How blessed I am to have had an amazing bonus daughter like Gracie Revels.  Gracie was my daughter Ashley's very best friend and boy did she add to our household in SO many ways. We never knew what we were in for when we saw that blue Jeep turn in the driveway. She would usually bring something that would make a lasting impact.  She may bring a crazy story, a smart comment, not enough clothes, and sometimes there were even legal concerns when she brought Catherine a STOP sign to decorate her new apartment.   We never knew what to expect but we loved every visit. 

Our lives will never be the same without Gracie.  She was so REAL, consistent, falthful, rebellious (in a good way most of the time), SO much fun, forgiving, beautiful, an amazing athlete, humble, loving, and a blessing to so many. She was a blessing to my family and we loved her. She was so easy to love even when she made you so frustrated because she would smile with those huge dimples and kiss you and tell you she loved you.  She was so easy to love because she was so REAL.  She did not conform to any standards but her own. She was genuine and  did not care to impress anyone for superficial reasons, have MORE than anyone, stand ABOVE anyone, or OUT perform anyone. If she achieved any of those things it was natural, not intentional.  .I miss Gracie  busting in my front door after getting my spare key out of its secret hiding place, I miss her asking for brown rice, I miss her putting crude bumper stickers on her car so I could scrape them off, I miss her dyeing Coach Perry's hair red and tripping her while chasing her with a bucket after a win, I miss her calling Ashley, Ash-hole, I miss her decorating cookies with crude pictures, I miss her clocking a batter in the head after a walk (multiple times), I miss listening to and seeing how much she loved her family, I miss watching her make people smile,  I miss everything about Gracie Revels. Thank you Gracie for teaching me what is really important, how to be REAL.  I will always love you Gracie Revels!

-Erica Abbott

My Adopted Daughter.

The first day I walked into LHS softball conditioning as a coach, I was greeted by Gracie- loudly and with the biggest smile on her face.  I was nervous and knew no one but the other coaches.  Gracie quickly made me feel at home.  To know her was to love her.  Gracie and I grew closer over the years, and every time I introduced her to someone else in my life, they immediately talked about how special she was.  In every conversation I ever had with Grace, she would make me laugh and shake my head…sometimes simultaneously.  She lived life to the fullest extent.  Every single moment.  Every single situation.  Gracie lived life without regrets.  Apologies, sure, and that’s one thing she always did.  She was one of the most honest kids who would own up to her mistakes and would even take the blame for others’ mistakes.  Gracie loved big, laughed big, and lived big.  You couldn’t be in a bad mood around her.  She impacted every person she ever met.  Everyone everywhere always remembered Gracie.  She didn’t meet a stranger and made friends with literally everyone.  She embarrassed me countless times, but that was just Gracie.  I think she enjoyed it.  Gracie unknowingly taught me some of life’s biggest lessons- do what makes you happy, live big every day, and love everyone regardless.  We plan to embody every aspect of those lessons through the Gracie Revels Foundation.

-Kimber Celmer

My Little Softball Sister.

If you have ever been a part of a team, you know there is always that one teammate that is special. The one person that has contagious energy and makes everyone laugh. The kind of player that will make the whole team run for never being serious, but also lead the team in hits. Gracie was that kid! I had the privilege of playing travel softball with Grace. We played together all the way up to my freshman year of college. We were told often we were double trouble together. We have many memories on the ball field of talking junk to other teams, seeing how far we could push coaches at practice, making umpires uncomfortable, and competing in World Series Championships. We always knew each other as the team clowns. However, my senior year of college I got the opportunity to come back and coach at LHS. It was Gracie’s senior year and I got to meet a different side of her. I was coaching JV and most of the girls on JV played travel ball for me. There was a player that specifically stuck out of that group named Riley Burton. She was a catcher just like Grace. Riley was a 7th grader and Grace was a senior. Gracie took Riley under her wing and made her feel important. It was amazing to sit back and watch. I watched Gracie transform from the girl that once made our team run for mooning the coach, to a nurturing, caring, big hearted leader. That was the thing I loved most about Gracie. She was the crazy, silly, care free girl, but she also had the biggest heart for others. In fact, anytime I have heard anyone try to describe her their words are, “she was just Gracie.” You could always count on her to make you laugh, but if you needed her she was there. I could call her anytime to help me with fundraisers or work with younger girls at practice. She would show up with a smile. She was truly one of a kind. She had a spirit that compares to no other and she made an impression on everyone she met. Gracie was a light to this world and my goal for her foundation is to continue her legacy. Let Gracie’s light continue to shine. Whether it is making someone laugh or helping out someone in need. I hope we can all take time to #LiveLikeGrace. Smile. Laugh. Enjoy the moment. Hug. Steal street signs. Take the risk. Make everyday a good day. Appreciate your people. Live. And even…Lick your friends face. Because we all know that was Grace. I was blessed to be apart of your journey Gracie. Thank you for being you!

-Katy Ghent

My Niece.

Being Grace’s Aunt was one of the greatest gifts I have been given. While Grace’s time on earth was short, I learned so much from her in that short period. I learned that Grace truly lived by the meaning of her name. Grace exemplified Grace in so many ways. Through her words and actions she showed true Grace. Grace always thought of others before herself, one of her passions in life was making others smile and reminding others how much she loved them. Grace gave and never expected anything in return. Grace loved life, lived freely, never judged, and was a friend to everyone. Everywhere that Grace went in life she was sure to leave a little piece of Grace there. In everything that she did she gave her all and never gave up. Gracefully, Grace impacted more lives in her 20 years on earth than most of us do in our entire lifetimes. Grace’s Legacy will forever live on through her family, friends and all those she touched. While none of us can fully be like Grace, we should all in some small way - Live like Grace!!

-Jennifer Phillips Olney

My Role Model.

Many people had their different opinions on Gracie, but one thing I think most people can agree on about Gracie was her out of the ordinary personality and attitude. Gracie never let what people said about her affect her. You could look at Gracie and tell her you didn’t like her and she would first probably laugh at you and then say, “was I supposed to care?” But that was just Gracie. I think what people most loved and kept them on their toes about Gracie was you never knew what she was going to do or say next, no matter if she knew it would get her into trouble. I mean come on, we’re talking about the girl that showed up for her school pictures dressed up as one of the members of the band Kiss, but that was just Gracie.

Gracie took me under wing, if you had a problem with me, you had a problem with Gracie. I looked up to Gracie as a ball player. The attitude and way she carried herself when she stepped on the field, she knew she was good and nobody was going to tell her differently. Gracie taught me so many different things, I don’t even think I can list them all. The week before her senior night game, Gracie and I went out to eat and she told me, “Riley, you’re better than most of these girls out here, you need to act like it. Stop being scared to step up to the older girls. When I leave, this team is in your hands. Number 10… I want you to get this number and rock that thing like I did!” When Gracie left for college, we texted almost every week about the most random things. Gracie came back for some of our games during the next season. I remember attending a USC Union camp and the only reason I went was because Gracie said her coach made her find someone to come. She said I was the first person she thought of. Then it was almost time for her season to start and she wanted me to come ewatch. That Friday she was in a car accident and passed away. Gracie, I could keep going on forever and ever but I’m going to end it with I love you so much and I will never forget you. I will always rock #10 but I don’t think I can ever wear it like you did.

-Riley Burton