Grace K. Orzechowski

1996 - 2020

Grace K. Orzechowski, 24, of Concord, NH, passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on Sunday, December 20, 2020, after a two-year battle with brain cancer. She was born on March 27, 1996, in Concord, the daughter of Raymond Orzechowski and Anne LaForce.

Grace graduated from Concord High School in 2014, where she excelled at lacrosse (two year Captain), field hockey, and indoor track. She was a proud member of the Lacrosse State Championship Team in 2012. Grace was well-loved and respected by students, teachers, and coaches alike. During those years, she began working at Arnie's Place, a beloved hometown ice cream and barbeque spot. She was affectionately known as "Captain" to her coworkers and managers. She continued to work there for years after graduation and loved every minute of it.

Grace went on to graduate from The University of Connecticut in 2018 with a B.S. in Allied Health Sciences. While there, she formed life-long relationships with a group of people as vibrant and charismatic as she. Grace also met the love of her life, Tyler Olander, a fellow UConn alum and two-time NCAA Division I Champion in Men's Basketball. Some of her most treasured friendships were within her sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. Grace was a four year participant in UConn's HuskyTHON, an 18-hour dance marathon "For the Kids", which benefits Connecticut Children's Medical Center. In 2019, soon after her diagnosis, she returned to HuskyTHON and generated a record $36,000+ as a top individual fundraiser. Grace was a member of the Club Women's Lacrosse team, which allowed her to travel to Santa Barbara, California, to participate in tournaments with her close-knit teammates. In anticipation of a career in physical therapy, she became a Licensed Nursing Assistant. Grace's work with the elderly developed into a commitment to help others as a career.

Following graduation, she began a Doctoral Program in Physical Therapy at Franklin Pierce University in Manchester, NH. Within her first two months of classes, Grace was diagnosed with glioblastoma, a high-grade brain tumor. Her subsequent treatments required her to withdraw from the program. Over the course of six months, Grace underwent numerous surgeries, scans, and tests, including intensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments. It was then that she discovered her passion for supporting cancer patients, and was inspired to apply to New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, to pursue a career as a Radiation Therapist. In the Fall of 2019, while still in treatment, Grace began her training. Despite the challenges related to her disease, she excelled academically and was inducted into the National Honor Society for the Radiologic and Imaging Sciences in the Fall of 2020.

Our Amazing Grace was passionate, kind, joyous, witty, sassy, fiercely loyal, and deeply protective. She lit up a room with her bright smile, her infectious energy, and her bubbly laughter. If you were lucky enough to be loved by her, your life was better because of it. To know Grace is to know love. Though it was short, we were lucky to have shared this life with her, and she lives on in all of us.

Members of her family include her parents, Raymond Orzechowski and Anne LaForce; sister, Hannah Orzechowski, 26, and brother, Sam Orzechowski, 20, all of Concord. She is survived by her grandmother, Judith Dallas of Cherry Hill, NJ, and grandfather, Raymond Orzechowski, Sr., and his wife, Carol Weiss of Newtown Square, PA. Grace is also survived by a large and loving extended family and friend group, including her beloved Tyler. She is predeceased by her grandparents, Ray and Polly LaForce of Manchester, NH.

The family has established the Grace K. Orzechowski Scholarship for Radiation Therapy students at NHTI. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation. A link to the Foundation Site can be found at https://givenhcc.org/where-to-give/nhti.

Checks may also be made out to "NHTI," and addressed to 31 College Drive, Concord, NH 03301, Attn: Laura Scott. They should reference The Grace K. Orzechowski Memorial Scholarship Fund.

There are no services scheduled at this time; the family will be organizing a celebration of Grace's life at a later date.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Bennett Funeral Home of Concord. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.BennettFuneral.com for the family of Grace K. Orzechowski.