Obituary: Migaki, Grace I.
Age 45
(Age 45) Of Ludlow, Vermont, passed away after a long illness on August 13, 2014.
Grace was born on June 12, 1969, and grew up in Pullman, Washington where she graduated with honors from Pullman High School.
She then moved east to attend Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
During her years at Vassar, Grace was a member of the volleyball team while majoring in Biochemistry.
Grace had many academic accomplishments including a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship for excellence in education.
In her senior year, she advanced to the final round of the selection process for the Rhodes scholarship after being sponsored by Washington State congressman and Speaker of the House Tom Foley.
After graduating with honors from Vassar, Grace worked for Boerhinger Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals as a published Research Scientist.
She then went on to attend Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Medical School on an M.D./Ph.D.
scholarship but was forced to withdraw from the program to support an ailing family member.
Grace later returned to Dartmouth Medical School and received a Masters in Public Health.
She then worked in the area of clinical trials intelligence and most recently was employed by GE Healthcare as the Director of Member Services for GE Patient Safety Organization.
Grace’s vibrant and outgoing spirit led to many friendships with people from all walks of life.
Her desire to help people was manifest in her many contributions to public service, beginning with her participation in the Rainbow Girls service organization during high school.
Grace founded an online support group for endometriosis in the early days of AOL that helped hundreds of women learn about the debilitating disease and how to cope with it.
She was also an active member of the Endometriosis Association where she participated in educational events, spoke at scientific conferences on the topic and wrote educational articles for the organization.
Grace enjoyed outdoor activities including beach volleyball, skiing and snowboarding.
She expressed her creative spirit by crafting her own soaps and lotions as gifts.
Grace is survived by her husband, Gary Caviness, close friend and caregiver, Jared Schmidek, her father, James Migaki, her mother, Ruth Tsai, and brother, Paul Migaki.
A memorial service will be held at the Kimball Funeral Home in Pullman, at 10:00 AM, on Saturday, August 23, 2014.
Concluding services will follow at the Pullman Cemetery.
Online condolences may be sent to www.kimballfh.com To honor Grace’s passing, in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations may be made to the Endometriosis Association (www.endometriosisassn.org/donate.html) or the Campaign to End Chronic Pain in Women (www.endwomenspain.org).
KIMBALL FUNERAL HOME, Pullman, WA