OHSU extends condolences to the Monfries family

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Joint statement on MCMC and OHSU agreement
Joint statement on MCMC and OHSU agreement

On behalf of the OHSU community, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to OHSU board chair Wayne Monfries, Susan and Caitlyn Monfries, on the passing of their daughter and sister, Sydney.

Words fall short in conveying our sorrow. Please join us in keeping the Monfries family in your thoughts as they mourn this incomprehensible loss.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, April 27, at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, North Campus, 8501 N. Chautauqua Blvd., Portland, OR 97217.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Heart Association. Please respect their privacy as they grieve.  

Danny Jacobs, M.D., M.P.H., FACS, OHSU President

Sydney Monfries
Sydney Paige Monfries. (Photo courtesy of Monfries family)

 

Sydney Paige Monfries

Jan. 23, 1997 – April 14, 2019

Sydney Paige Monfries, a senior at Fordham University with a passion for media, fashion and travel, passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2019 at the young age of 22. 

Sydney was a wonderful young woman that was loved, is missed, and will always be cherished by everyone that knew her. “Syd,” as she was called by all, was a devoted sister, daughter, and friend to everyone with whom she came in contact.

Sydney was the oldest child, born in 1997, to Wayne and Susan Monfries in Hackettstown, NJ. Sydney’s travel bug was caught early when her family moved from NJ to London, England in 1999. She loved the city so much that she always wanted to come back to visit and study. Her junior high and high school days were spent in Portland, OR, where she graduated in 2015 from Jesuit High School. As a college student at Fordham University, she fulfilled her dream of going back to London by studying abroad at Fordham’s London campus during the fall of her junior year.

Sydney was very close with her family. She visited her mother, father and sister as often as possible, even though they were on opposite ends of the country. Her grandma, Ena, lives nearby to Fordham University; Sydney would visit her often, taking her to church, out to lunch, and loved every moment of just spending time with her. Her uncles, Greg and Chris, lived nearby in the city and Sydney enjoyed visiting with them, particularly for Sunday dinners. After they recently moved upstate she still made the trek to visit with them and her beloved grandfather, Val, on the weekends. Her mother, Susan, was her best friend and her friends always said Sydney was vibrant and outgoing “just like her mom”; she was truly her “mini-me”. Her father, Wayne, was her ultimate supporter and protector. They enjoyed discussing current world events and politics; and shared a love of the New York Giants and Yankees. Her sister, Caitlyn, looked up to Sydney in every way; she was her role-model and her compass, often discussing life events and how to navigate them. Her Godfather, Dwight Jones, was there when she was born and was her first babysitter, letting her mom & dad go out for the first time after her birth. Sydney made sure to save time for her extended family, regularly attending events and vacations with her cousins, and surrogate aunts and uncles: Cliff & Tracey Wilson, Bruce & Shelley Bryant, and David & Kiana Barfield.

Much like her loving “Nana,” Jeanette, Sydney was known for being very likable and having a lot of friends...so many friends. She didn’t just have one friend group, she had many. She treated everyone with kindness and importance, and always loved to share in the joy of her closest friends’ accomplishments, no matter how large or small. She was the ultimate social “connector” known for bringing together people from different backgrounds and cultures due to their shared attraction to “Syd”. She was the link that bonded them together.

Words used to describe Sydney: beautiful, confident, vibrant, loving, honest, & pure. The world hit the jackpot with Sydney, and those of us who knew her well really noticed. The void Sydney leaves is large, but her spirit and impact on us will be much larger.

Loved ones that passed before Sydney are her maternal grandfather, Lloyd C. Brown; maternal grandmother, Irene Hubbs; and paternal grandmother, Jeanette Monfries. Loved ones that will miss Sydney until they meet again are her mother Susan Monfries; her father, Wayne Monfries; her sister, Caitlyn Monfries; her paternal grandfather, Linval Monfries; her aunts, Kimberly Kring and Linda Stevens; her uncles, Gregory Monfries (Chris), James Owens (Kathy), and Wayne Renshaw; and many cousins and other family & close friends.


Tamara Hargens-Bradley
Senior Director, Strategic Communications
OHSU
503-494-8231