TRAE TYRELL WILLIAMS

TRAE Tyrell Williams (33), a devoted and beloved son, brother, uncle, grandson, nephew, cousin, and friend. TRAE was a loving family man who played football, basketball, and track and field. He was an amazing cook, mentor, and expert storyteller. He was well known, a celebrity in his own right. He was inspiring, loving, forgiving, and thoughtful. When asked, he would always state, ‘He has lived a long life, and God gave him longevity to his crown.” His strength of character, personal resolve, resilience, dedication, and love for others were contagious. TRAE had a way of brightening one’s day, always seeing the good in others.

In July 2008, at the age of 19, TRAE was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer, stage 3 rhabdomyosarcoma. He moved to New York to receive treatment led by Dr. Leonard Wexler and Dr. Wilson Dumornay at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Center. TRAE’s testimony is extraordinary. He spent the next three years undergoing unprecedented levels of chemo and radiation, during which he was also able to continue his undergraduate studies at Bethune Cookman University in Daytona, FL. By the grace of God and with the extraordinary efforts, treatment, and support he received from his care team at Sloan, TRAE’s three-year life sentence given by medical personnel was extended to 13 years of herculean living. TRADE became one of the miracles of Memorial Sloan Kettering Center.

TRAE felt his cancer journey was the masterpiece of his life; it was the challenge of a lifetime. Just like a boxer would do, he felt he had to fight his way to victory. During this course of his life, he said his mind became weak, which led to his body becoming weak. He began to lean on the faith he had learned earlier on as a child and began to read the Word of God, as written in the Holy Bible, and devoted his life to change. After 10 rounds of fighting cancer and giving his life to Christ, TRAE won the fight he had feared. This second chance at life was the impetus for him writing 8 chapters of a not-yet-published memoir, “Me, God, and Cancer.”. In his memoir, TRAE shares his growth & development as a child, understanding of faults in his adolescence, his loss of faith, the consequences of rebellion, growing pains from a child to a man, being stricken with cancer, restoring his faith, and overcoming the Miracle. Here is an excerpt from the book:

“A LIFE”

“In life, we as humans are faced with many obstacles and are taught to persevere through what we go through. Everyone has a divine purpose, but it seems apparent to me that the purpose of living is to find one’s own purpose. I’ve seen and experienced pain like no other, heard cries, and seen tears evolving from the souls of others. I’ve experienced the joy of life and being able to breathe another day.

These are some things that life consists of.“

“As a child, I was brought up in a Baptist church but never fully understood receiving salvation and being a child of God. During my teen years, I was wild.and out of control. After my first year of college, I was diagnosed with a rare cancer in my sinus cavity. This would change my life.”.

On February 4, 2021, TRAE experienced a fatal intracranial bleed in his pons that resulted in a massive stroke. In an instant, the glow that once lit up our world grew darkly dim. TRAE’s journey on earth had ended, but his legacy lives on. TRAE lived a full life, an experience he would not have had if it were not for the elite care he received at Memorial Sloan Kettering Center during his cancer journey and all of the wonderful people and resources afforded to us. This memorial fund is being established to honor the life of my son, TRAE TYRELL WILLIAMS, and to give others stricken with cancer a fighting chance at life.