Community, MHS mourns athlete & Super Fan
Published May 7, 2021
By JENNIFER GENTILE
MELROSE—Melrose Public Schools and the larger community are mourning the sudden loss of 17-year old Grace Zinck of Melrose, who passed away at home on Friday, April 23.
“Amazing Grace,” as she was affectionately known, touched the hearts of thousands not the least her parents, Brian and Cathy Zinck of Melrose and siblings Brendan and Audrey. Grace helped spearhead The Amazing Grace Golf Tourney, which in 14 years raised over $200,000 for charity. Beneficiaries of their goodwill included EMARC, the Melrose Education Foundation, and organizations supporting people with special needs. The popular golf tourney drew hundreds each October at Mt Hood.
Grace, a Roosevelt School-alum, was a valued member of the Melrose High School Unified Basketball team, an MIAA sponsored sport. Resilient until the end, she participated in her last game just a few weeks ago. She was both an athlete and Super Fan, spending countless hours in hockey rinks cheering on her brother and sister in competitive hockey games. That favor was reciprocated when she became a Melrose High athlete through the Unified Basketball team.
Not just an athlete, she was a beauty queen, crowned Ms. Amazing Massachusetts Jr. Teen in 2017.
Friends note that Grace loved babies, stuffed animals, Nutella spread, the color purple and her dog, Levi.
There was nothing Grace couldn’t do. Despite being born with Trisomy 18, Grace took part in water sports, skating and outdoor exercise. She was a gifted Special Olympics athlete and a member of the Tufts University lacrosse team. She was, in essence, a thrill seeker who made every minute of her life count.
Our newspaper has enjoyed telling her story in years past. At birth, Grace’s parents were told that she’d only live a short time. Instead, doctors considered Grace a case study in miraculous longevity. Much of that is credited to her parents, both medical professionals, who insisted that she live a normal life, not sheltered, and be exposed to life’s ups and downs.
But weren’t the ups great? Grace was known to ride a roller coaster and waterslide, camp out, race, swim, hop on a boat, wear a crown, don makeup and fancy dresses, work a lacrosse stick, perhaps commandeer a golf cart and, even in her last weeks, was still throwing hoops at Melrose High gym. In a contest versus Lynn Tech in March, Grace’s key assist marked the first official assist by a female Unified team athlete.
Her coach, Melrose High’s Matt Manfredi, spoke of the great loss the team is feeling now. “It is difficult to accurately describe what having a kid like Grace on your team is like. There was not a moment that she wasn’t looking out for her teammate. She was always there with a smile or a joke or to compliment someone on a play or even a new haircut,” he said.
He also pointed out that Grace was a trailblazer on the court, earning a rare first among high school athletes in Massachusetts. “We were lucky enough to to be the only Unified team in the state that had a player in a wheelchair on the court,” he says. “And that is a testament to Grace’s determination and willingness to help her teammates no matter what.”
Grace will leave behind a hole in the hearts of her team, one that won’t soon be fixed. “Grace was the heart of our team and offered constant high level emotional support to her teammates,” says Manfredi. “I’ve been coaching high school sports for 7 years and this was one of the most special teams and players I’ve ever had the opportunity to coach. Grace loved her teammates and was a special girl and who left quite a mark on all of those she interacted with.”
Seventeen years is not enough, but in some ways it was so very much. Grace Zinck defied odds that mystified doctors and excelled in sports and school in ways that should inspire the world. In her final days, she got to spend time with her extended family, who meant the world to her—memories that might heal the heart.
Grace smiled through the hard times. She made the day of her teachers and classmates. She was smart as a whip, good with a joke, great at speeches, and remembered every face that greeted her. An entire community grew to love the girl, and their family. In the midst of heavy hearts let’s remember that a life like Grace’s is so rare, that only God could have designed it.
Grace happened. And how lucky we are.
To view a video on the life of Grace Zinck (created by MHS’s Anthony DiBenedetto) visit https://www.youtube.com/user/melrosehightv/videos.
#GraceHappens
