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Camp Henry honors teen camper, building cabins in her memory

Posted at 6:32 PM, Jun 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-22 18:32:36-04

NEWAYGO, Mich. -Camp Henry is honoring a teenage camper after her battle with brain cancer, building new cabins in memory of Abby Gross.

Abby's mother, Jeanne says it's been a little more than two years since 15-year-old Abby Gross passed away. However, loved ones at the camp are still thinking about the girl who made such a difference in the lives of so many. Abby was a camper there for four summers.

"Just a couple weeks after her first summer we found out that she was sick," Gross said. "Abby had a seizure when we were traveling."

That seizure was the beginning of Abby's fight with brain cancer, but her illness didn't stop Abby from living.  Abby loved spending time with her horses, and of course being a kid at Camp Henry. Friends and family say Abby taught others what true bravery and joy looked like during uncertain times.

"'Choose joy,' after Abby got sick that kind of became our family mantra," Gross said.

Abby lost her battle to cancer in May 2015, but her memory will live on thanks to close friends and family wanting to share her story.

More than 150 volunteers have constructed the Abby Gross Frontier Village in her honor. The village has three cabins named for Abby's foundational principles: joy, bravery, and luck.

"The fact that she’s still continuing to impact their lives, bringing people together is the greatest gift I could have ever hoped for," Gross said.

The cabins will be finished Sunday, June 22, just in time for Camp Henry's first week campers.