Freshman Alayna Shelley was funny, smart and had a great love for cats. She was born on June 12, 2002, along with her triplet sister and brother, Emma and Jack.

She left behind a legacy of love, compassion and bravery. She fought a battle against acute lymphoblastic leukemia from March 10 to Dec. 22. She left behind Emma, Jack, her younger sister Amanda, parents Tim and Liana and her beloved cat Sydney.

“It’s just a lot different without her,” said Emma.

Emma and Alayna were very close, sharing a room in their basement and doing almost everything together. They were involved in gymnastics up until eighth grade and were in the same class until middle school.

Alayna was obsessed with cats. Before she got sick, she got a camera because she loved taking photos, and she took countless pictures of her cat. There were pictures of Sydney in her hospital room, and when Facetiming her family from the hospital, she would ask about her cat and want to put it on the phone.

“Sydney was the love of her life, I would say,” said Alayna’s

mom.
Because of her diagnosis,

Alayna could not start her freshman year at Staley with her siblings and close friend Taylor Kolbe, who spoke at her memorial on Jan. 2, and her other lifelong friends. Alayna and Kolbe were friends since the sixth grade, where their seating chart in choir put them next to each other. When they met in sixth grade, Kolbe didn’t know that Alayna was a triplet and didn’t find out until a year and a half later. Then, all four of them became close friends.

“Alayna was a bit shy until you got to know her, then she was a lot of fun,” said Kolbe.

Alayna was in remission and had enrolled in classes for second semester, but she had a stroke and passed away on Dec. 22.

Junior Britlyn Sparks has known the triplets for nine years, going back to elementary school. They used to walk home together, and now Sparks takes them home after school.

“She was the sweetest girl I have ever met,” said Sparks.