Gracie Pearl Felsenthal

Gracie Felsenthal was hilarious, quirky, smart, happy, beautiful, unfiltered, frugal to a fault, generous, purposefully awkward, authentic, and lit up every room with her smile, heart, and humor. She was one of a kind. Ask anyone who knew her, and you'll get a cascade of adjectives and stories. Some of them contradictory. All of them true.

She was a leader, a joiner, and a doer. She loved sports, STEM, student government, dogs, cowboy boots, and shopping in Lost and Found. As a child, she was an incredible gymnast with unusual strength and flexibility. Her grandmother used to say if she lived in a Communist country, they would have taken her away to train for the Olympics. When she was a teenager, she submitted a video application while doing a headstand and talking for a full two minutes.

At Marin Academy, she swam, played volleyball and lacrosse, started the Lego club, tutored, and served on the youth board of Jewish Federation. She lost bids for student government three years in a row but kept at it. Her senior year, she opened her speech with "you may know me from my failed bids...." She won. One of her amazing strengths was an ability to hear "no," laugh about it, and try again or try something else.

She routinely grew her hair long solely to cut and donate it to cancer patients. One summer Gracie reached out to a program her cousin was involved in that supports girls in Senegal. She asked if she could help and went to West Africa on her own.

At Tufts University, she was a member of the women's rugby team, a student senator known for "the biggest smile after the longest meetings," and part of a burlesque dance group. She had a wonderful, eclectic group of friends: Students who were straight and gay. Athletes. Artists. Engineers. She was friends with professors and administrators, the university police (and their service dog), the cafeteria workers, and a cat named Mr. Moustache who roamed the campus.

She loved languages, was fluent in French and branched out into Spanish and German which she learned on Duolingo. She always ordered in Spanish at her favorite restaurant, Picante, in Medford, where the guys loved her dearly and never charged her full price.

Gracie inherited a passion for construction from her grandfather and hoped it would be her career. She built sleds out of cardboard on campus. She built a courtyard at Marin Academy. As an intern at Clark Construction Group, she built a new water treatment plant and part of the San Francisco Airport.

Above all, she built relationships. She leaves her parents, Amy and Marty, her brother Nate, her sister Lucy, her grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends who will never forget the unconditional love, beauty and joy she brought with her everywhere.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday Oct. 19 at Congregation Emanu-El 2 Lake Street, San Francisco.

In lieu of flowers, the family invites donations to Marin Academy, one of Gracie's many happy places. Gracie's family is working with the school to determine a meaningful and lasting way to celebrate her life and spirit.

Please select "Gracie Felsenthal Memorial Fund" from the drop-down menu under Gift Designation.