Melissa Anne Doyle, 29, died Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009, at her home in Clermont County surrounded by family and friends.

She was born Dec. 26, 1979, in Providence, Rhode Island and resided in Narragansett, R.I.

Ms. Doyle was born with DiGeorge Syndrome, a very rare disease which has many complications including developmental disabilities. She was the oldest known patient with this syndrome.

She attended the J. Arthur Trudeau Center in Warwick, R.I. in their early intervention program until she was five. She served as a pioneer of healthcare and insurance reform from 1982 – 1985. Her parents, Bob and Anne Doyle, launched a state-wide crusade to get home care for chronically ill children paid for. She was one of the “base cases” which saw President Ronald Reagan sign the law “The Katie Beckett Provision.” It mandated states to provide healthcare in the home. In 1985, she moved to Philadelphia, Penn., where she lived for nine years.

She remained an avid fighter for the disabled while there and completed grade school in 1994.

In 1994, her family moved to Cincinnati where she attended the Thomas A. Wildey School. She excelled in both academics and extra-curricular activities. Ms. Doyle was an award winning cheerleader for the Wildey Comets and an avid bowler. She graduated in 2002 and was recognized by President George W. Bush for her achievements receiving the President’s Education Award.

She entered the adult program at Clermont County Board of MRDD where she won an art contest with her painting “Balloons.” She also won numerous gold, silver and bronze medals at the Ohio State Special Olympics. In June 2009, she brought home a bronze medal.

Ms. Doyle loved to travel and she had a collection of hats.

Those who knew her said that she didn’t see differences in people and accepted everyone. She was a champion for those with disabilities and mental retardation. She was a volunteer at the election polls to help pass levies for the board of retardation. Ms. Doyle co-hosted an annual fund raiser at the home of her parents each year.

Ms. Doyle was preceded in death by her paternal grandfather, Joseph Doyle; paternal grandmother, Charlotte Fitzgibbons Doyle Hicks and her maternal grandmother, Claire Gorgone Bartolomeo.

She is survived by her parents; her maternal grandfather and his wife, Thomas and Jeanne Bartolomeo of South Kingston, R.I.; paternal grandmother, Pauline Doyle Muntz of Charlotte, N.C.; grandpa Jim of Gastonia, N.C. and numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.

A celebration of her life was held Sept. 7, at E.C. Nurre Funeral Home in Amelia. A concelebrated High Requiem Mass will be held at the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Providence, R.I.

Interment in the family plot in Warwick Rhode Island.

Memorials may be made to the M. A. Doyle Recreational Fund, c/o Clermont County MRDD, P. O. Box 156, Batavia, Ohio 45103.