Remembering Maddy Sake: Her family says she loved, among other things, soccer and loud trucks

Maddy Sake’s dreams for the future included, among other things, being a pediatrician or neonatal nurse. Those dreams met a tragic end last week when Sake, a 16-year-old Hastings High School student, died in a car crash.

Her family is busy trying to figure out how to go on without her. They’re certain she would want them to meet life with smiles, and that’s something they’re working on.

“If there is one thing we feel strongly about as a family right now, it’s that Maddy would want us to go on and be happy again,” wrote Maddy Sake’s mother Shelley. “It was absolutely her gift. She had a smile that could light up a room and always knew the right silly thing to say to make you laugh. We miss her terribly and always will, but we feel like that it is her legacy to remind us not to take life too seriously, and to embrace and accept people for who they are. It’s what she would’ve done, and it’s what we want to do to remember her.”

Shelley and Mike Sake had three daughters. Their first daughter was Alyssa and then Maddy and her identical twin sister Abby were born in 1995.

“She and … Abby … were truly best friends — we are hard pressed to find photos of one without the other,” Shelley Sake wrote. “She also shared a special relationship with her big sister, Alyssa. They loved to shop and shared a similar sense of humor. Having three daughters, we always anticipated a lot of fighting, but it was never really the case. The saying in our house was always ‘sister love’ and usually ended with a big hug. She also loved her extended family – her grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins.”

At Christmastime, the family’s Christmas letter was a labor of love for Maddy.

“She was famous for writing our family Christmas letter – we even had requests to be added to the list just so they could see what she came up with next,” Shelley Sake wrote. “She just had a crazy and easy way about her that made you comfortable around her.”

Maddy Sake played soccer, loved her friends, loud trucks and her job at Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, her mother said.

“Maddy adored her friends – and there were a ton of them,” Shelley Sake wrote. “I think we are learning now just how many people considered her a good friend. We find that so comforting – just knowing how many people truly loved her. She loved purple. She loved the Minnesota Vikings, and especially Adrian Peterson. She wore that No. 28 jersey proudly at home and at the games. She loved country music — her favorite song was “Cruise” by Florida Georgia Line. She loved trucks — especially old Chevys — and the louder the better. She was a blue jean and sweatshirt girl most of the time, but still liked her bling.

“She loved soccer and, despite her size, she was no pushover on the field. She loved school because she was such a social butterfly. She loved her job at Dickey’s, her co-workers and the ‘regulars’ she saw so often there.”

“Maddy was a free spirit who got all of her energy from people. She was a goofy girl — with a wide grin and a 1000 funny faces. She was a wonderful daughter – always quick with a hug, and an ‘I love you.’ From day one, she was a petite girl with a gigantic heart.”

In the days following the crash, the community has reached out to the Sakes, and they are thankful for the support.

“We are so overwhelmed and thankful to everyone in the community, as well as to our family and friends both near and far,” Shelley Sake wrote. “The support and love has been overwhelming for us — it truly is a blessing.  We know Maddy is the prettiest angel in heaven.  We know she is safe with Jesus and is watching over all of us and reminding us to live life to the fullest. We think she is probably planning a good party for us when we are all together again.”

The Sake family has the three people in the second vehicle in their thoughts, too.

“We would also like to let Blake Beissel and the other occupants in the truck involved in the accident that we know it was just that – a bad accident,” Shelley Sake wrote. “We hope that they are mending well, and that our thoughts and prayers are with them.”

A Facebook page has been set up by the family to share stories and photos of Maddy. It can be found at www.face book.com/RestInPeaceMadelineRoseSake.

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