Kristen’s bright smile and cheerful personality warmed the hearts of those that knew her. Kristen enjoyed traveling, music, spending time with her family and friends and shopping, however her favorite pastime was reading. As a child she read so much while riding in the car she never paid attention to directions. Her favorite gift, second to her Nook, was her Garmin GPS.

Kristen was baptized at the age of 9 and served at her church as a nurse and choir member. God blessed her with a beautiful singing voice. In middle school she won the best choir member award and was voted the most likely to receive a “Grammy” from her High School graduating class.

She graduated from high school at the age of 16. Afterwards, she attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree.

After an internship with the Detroit Tigers, Kristen became their Community Affairs Coordinator, managing various community partnerships and organizing in-park community initiatives. She held a significant role in planning the Detroit Tigers annual Negro Leagues Weekend , the Detroit Stars Singing Competition and the Detroit Tigers annual winter caravan. Kristen also ran the Tigers memorabilia donation program, providing support to over 1000 charitable organizations in the greater Detroit community.

Kristen was a very generous person, always giving gifts to family and friends. Everyone looked forward to her gift of Madeline cookies during the holidays. On February 22, 2012, Kristen gave her most precious gifts. After a fatal asthma attack that occurred while on vacation with her family, she became an organ and tissue donor to many recipients.

Please consider finding out more about organ and tissue donation and transplantation and joining the Michigan donor registry.