Eli William Mahnken

Eli William Mahnken passed away peacefully on October 14, 2022 from brain cancer. Eli was born on June 19th, 2015 to parents Dave and Heather Mahnken. In his short time on this earth, Eli lived a very full life, filled with determination, joy, courage, and the desire to enjoy everyday memories. Most days he could be seen running to school, excited to be the first one into his classroom. He loved school: learning, math, and reading. Eli loved building with Legos, playing with his siblings, reading to his stuffed animals, and was a Pokémon master. He quizzed anyone who would listen about Pokémon facts and his favorite Pokémon was Mewtwo.

Eli was a fighter. He had to overcome many challenges, but he was determined to live every day to the fullest. He absolutely loved to run and made it one of his goals to complete the mile run at school. He played soccer, learned how to ride a bike, and learned to downhill ski. He prided himself in being able to ski black diamonds with his siblings and speed down the mountain. He loved being in the outdoors, camping and hiking up mountains. Eli enjoyed traveling and traveled to 32 different states in the US. He enjoyed hiking in the Grand Canyon, explored sea life in Alaska, watched an epic sunset in Hawaii, swam in the ocean in North Carolina, and enjoyed a sun rise on Cadillac Mountain in Maine.

Eli is survived by his loving parents; his brother and his sister, Gregory and Aubrey; and countless family and friends. A Celebration of Life will be held on November 19th at 1:00pm at Hope United Methodist Church in Eli’s honor. Please join our family in remembering his extraordinary life. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Morgan Adam’s Foundation, a local organization that raises awareness and money for childhood cancer research. ( https://www.morganadamsfoundation.org/eli/ )