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MANON SOHN Obituary
MANON ALEXANDRA
(1991-2017). Manon passed away on March 11, 2017, at home. She was born July 19, 1991, and the only child of Rebecca Abbas Sohn and Robert C. (Theresa) Sohn. She was blessed with intelligence, beauty and compassion for others. Manon carried the grace to widen social circles and show others that all needed to belong. When in her presence, her friends always knew, they were special. She loved and lived the Arts, often using poetry and quotes to cut through the noise and static of our complicated and technologically driven world. She turned to music and became an accomplished harpist. While completing her undergraduate studies, she held an affiliation with McGill University's Wind Symphony and Sinfonietta ensembles. She was a past member of the American Harp Society and a graduate of Boston University's Tanglewood Institute. Never forgetting, she often spoke fondly and reminisced about her early summer internship at WYEP FM, Pittsburgh's public radio station, where she programmed playlist content and felt enriched by their music and artistic expression. Manon held an insatiable curiosity for how children learn and build their social skills. After graduating college, she became a member of a nationally recognized research team focusing on early childhood development. She served as a Research Associate and Laboratory Manager, at Carnegie Mellon University's, Cognitive Development Lab and Discovery Process Lab. Believing that stepping out of the laboratory and better understanding the plight of educators was needed to further herself, she pursued clinical work. At the time of her death, she was employed as an autism therapist, supporting those on the spectrum in schools and working with their families - her empathy and compassion still shining brightly. Manon loved animals, caring for an array of over 14 during her childhood. But it was the dogs she loved most. She could be seen often in the parks and on the trails, with Ruca, a Labrador mix, rescued from Tennessee, who owned her heart. Manon was currently enrolled in the Masters of Science Program in Applied Developmental Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. She held a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from McGill University, Montreal, QC and was a graduate of Sewickley Academy. She is survived by her parents, paternal grandmother (Mary Ellen Sohn), aunts and uncles, step- family and several cousins. She was loved by all who knew her. The viewing and burial will be private. A memorial celebration will be held at 11:00 a.m. on March 17, 2017, at St Paul's Episcopal Church, 1066 Washington Rd., Pittsburgh, PA 15228. Her family asks her life be a reminder that it is compassion for others and the acceptance of human frailty, not judgment, which matter most. Donations are suggested to the Women's Center & Shelter of Pittsburgh, Children's Program, P.O. Box 9024, Pittsburgh, PA 15224. Arrangements are being handled by WILLIAM SLATER II FUNERAL SERVICE, 1650 Greentree Road, Scott Twp., 412-563-2800.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Rebecca Sohn
July 14, 2025
On July 19, 2025, Manon, my daughter, will turn 34. On this day, there will be no candles, gifts, or celebrations with family and friends... only quiet remembrances by those who carry her in their hearts. Calendars mark time for milestone events, but not the human emotions behind them.
As I reflect and honor her on HER day, I am reminded of the insatiable curiosity, infectious laughter, and kindness that she brought to the world. I hear the silent sounds that only mothers know on the days when every song belongs to her child.
In heartbreaking loss and unimaginable pain, sorrow becomes a teacher of profound grace. A child´s love, life, and death shape our lives and expand our souls. Child loss carries its own legacy. It tells us the best way to honor our bereaved children is through resiliency, compassion, and our capacity to restore hope. It is our way to tell them "I love you".
Patricia G. Barnes
March 30, 2024
I remember Manon as a beautiful little girl. She was probably around age 4. I lived in Mount Lebanon, a neighbor. She was very kind to my little boy, Jeb, who was a couple of years younger. I am so sorry to read of her passing. I also remember her mother, Rebecca, who was such a loving mother, with boundless energy to do crafts and activities with Manon. It's sad to read that life too this turn but I can see what a blazing spirit she was while on earth. My deepest sympathies.
Manon Sohn<br /> In the garden
Rebecca Sohn
March 8, 2024
This year marks the 7th Anniversary of Manon's passing. Over the years, memories of her have only become richer and inspirational. As a child she loved nature; as a young professional, her rewards were helping others.
In her honor, I am proud to announce the establishment of the Family Institute of Horticultural Therapy. This nonprofit organization is dedicated to helping grieving families heal through compassion and the powers of nature. Horticultural therapy is recognized worldwide as a discipline for harnessing nature's message of renewal and using plant-based therapeutic methods to restore healing and well-being. The Institute is scheduled to be operational by year's end.
"Nature is always lovely, invincible, and glad whatever is done and suffered by her creatures. All scars she heals, whether in rocks or water or sky or hearts".....John Muir
Ray Fedorko
March 27, 2023
Today as I selected "Relaxing Harp Music" on YouTube for background music here in the office, my thoughts moved to Manon, remembering how beautifully she played when she'd grace the stage at Sewickley Academy. She and my son graduated together, and I can recall how I was always so thrilled when during any concert, I would see a harp on stage, and I knew Manon would be performing. We don't need to be close or even know another person for them to touch your life. Manon certainly touched mine.
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Rebecca Sohn
March 12, 2023
In Memoriam
MANON ALEXANDRA SOHN July 19, 1991 - March 11, 2017
On the 6th Anniversary of Manon's passing, we honor her and the beautiful and indelible memories she created with her family, friends and colleagues. Through her kindness and well-beyond-her-age wisdom, she innocently taught lessons about what it means to fully love and accept human frailties.
As we continue to feel her loss, she is still teaching and we are still learning. Learning grief is the most binding and universal of all human emotions...learning grief is nonlinear and fierce but also intimate and tender...learning it is transformational and can bring insight and compassion to all who suffer.
May Manon's memory continue to inspire us to enter each day with courage and a generous heart. That is what she would have wanted.
Remembering Manon with gratitude and love,
Rebecca Sohn, Manon's Mom
Rebecca Sohn
March 6, 2022
In Memoriam
MANON ALEXANDRA SOHN
July 19, 1991-March 11, 2017
To Manon
In the five years since your shattering loss,
your love unshakably remains. Although there
is no place for its enactment, like energy, love
never disappears. It only returns in different forms.
You continue to deepened and enrich your parents’
lives in ways only the heart understands. However
brief, you were truly God’s greatest gift to us.
To bereaved parents
In our culture of happiness-at all-cost, pause and
be with your grief for it will remain open-ended.
It should not be quelled or conquered but respected.
Let the secret anniversaries of your heart celebrate
the child who will always remain with you.
In memory of our daughter on the fifth anniversary
of her passing.
Submitted by:
Rebecca Sohn, Manon’s mother
lisa heberling
March 5, 2021
Think of Manon, often. One student is one too many to lose.
Rebecca Sohn
March 3, 2021
In Memoriam, MANON ALEXANDRA SOHN July 19,1991- March 11, 2017
To our daughter, whose insatiable curiosity, infectious laughter
and kindness graced our world. Although we cannot hold you
in our arms, we hold you in our hearts. On the days when
every song is yours and around every corner is a reminder of
your absence, you are teaching how beauty and pain coexist.
May your spirit soar as you now explore the wonders of Christ’s
Universe and know your life was our greatest gift.
To bereaved parents everywhere, we remain quietly connected.
As a way to honor the legacy of your beautiful children, reach out
and, with the compassion of your loss, comfort those who are
traveling our journey. Let them know they are not alone.
In Memoriam<br /> Manon Alexandra Sohn<br /> 7/19/1991--3/11/2017
Rebecca Sohn
July 14, 2020
In Memoriam
Manon Alexandra Sohn
7/19/1991--3/11/2017
To Manon,
Your parents honor you today and are grateful
for the many ways you blessed and brightened
our lives. Your legacy and love will always be
our strength.
To Manons friends,
May you pause today and recall happy
memories and the tenet of friendship always be
present in your lives.
To all bereaved parents,
Our paths have crossed through our losses
and the shared experience of grief. We are connected
without names. There is nothing more powerful
than knowing a stranger cares. It reinforces the
linkages of humanitya lesson from our children.
Jane Patterson Abbate
March 29, 2020
Rebecca, I just learned so late about the passing of your beautiful daughter Manon. I am so very sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Sincerely, Jane Patterson Abbate
Rebecca Sohn
January 24, 2020
An open letter to bereaved parents.
(Originally published December 21,2019, Pittsburgh Post Gazette). Written in memory of Manon Alexandra Sohn.
We are tied together through love and a bond with our children that transcends time......
With the holidays upon us, we are reminded of the season's message of love and joy. As we honor our traditions and exercise the celebrations of our faiths, we struggle to reconcile the divisiveness and injustices of today's world. We seek refuge from the disturbing and unrelenting headlines of our news screens and look for refuge in the communities to which we belong.
Although most communities are easily recognizable, there is one that is rarely talked about and which inclusion in never sought. It may even be considered taboo. It is the community of parents who have lost children. It has no borders, no ethnicity, no government and no socioeconomic level. It takes no credit or rewards. Regardless, this community is far reaching, powerful and healing. It speaks and brings comfort through kind deeds and actions by its members as they live and help others learn to live after unspeakable loss. This community reaches out daily with an understood connection of love and strength at times and in places one would least expect. At its core is grief, the most unifying aspect of the human experience. It is known to every culture and every religion.
The loss of a child is an unimaginable event. It is so profound it goes beyond the pains and furies of grieving. It changes your heart, your mind, your body and your spirituality. It causes you to see the world differently and to appreciate the frailties that unite us.
The literature and art on such loss comes from esteemed writers, poets and artists as well as the lesser known. The realized expressions span all forms of creativity from award winning to the simplicity of folk art. Also, there are academicians and counselors with published research and self-help books which confirm these changes and aid, but can never match the compassion of this unique community. It is an earned compassion, taught and given to us by our taken children. It comes from those who have listened deeply, attentively and non judgmentally and who have been through this perilous terrain.
During the stress-filled holiday season, parents struggle with ways to remember the legacy of their lost loved. As a bereaved parent, I reach out to remind you of the many candles that will shine for our children's souls, the prayers that will be said and the private and beautiful rituals that will take place in our homes and around the world. In addition, I ask you to reach out to others in our community through an act of compassion worthy of your child's legacy and teaching.
As we look to a new year, remember we are tied together through love and a bond with our children that transcends time. In the words of Emily Dickinson, The loved are unable to die, for love is eternal.
Written in memory of my daughter,Manon Alexandra Sohn (1991-2017).
March 11, 2019
I read your "In Memoriam " this morning and was so touched that it impelled me to read more about Manon. You raised a very special, lovely daughter. Losing a child is so very painful..I know because I lost my daughter. Thank you for your recognition and much appreciated words of encouragement for those of us who have also lost a child.
I am so very sorry for your loss. Losing a child is a never ending journey of healing.
Sincerely,
Barbara Pacella
January 16, 2019
Although I did not know your daughter, I have wanted to let her family know that the memorial that was in the Post Gazette toughed me deeply. I have held on to it since it was published in July 2018. I cried when I read the beautiful words about loosing a child. I have lost one brother in December 2016, and another nine months later in September 2017. My Mom could never get over either of my brothers passing. They were both young. It was just too hard to take. She recently passed this December 2018. All she wanted was to be with her two boys.
So I just wanted to let you know what a beautiful daughter you had and she must have been an angel on Earth and in Heaven.
God bless you all
Sharon Skirpan
Jeff Oster
April 24, 2017
So sad. Manon was loved so much by her Dad. He was so proud of her. My deepest condolences.
I'll always love you, Dad.
April 6, 2017
My sweet Angel. I'll always love you, Dad.
Joan Cucinotta
April 4, 2017
She was such a bright spot at Sewickley Academy. I remember seeing her perform on stage and being so impressed. I am so sorry for your loss.
Robert Sohn
March 31, 2017
My little girl, my young woman, my Daughter.....I will always love you.
I wrote her eulogy. She knows it flowed from my finger tips like water over a fall.
She would want you to have it if it would help any young person understand more completely a parent's love and loss. Please let me know if I can help.
May God bless you, Sweetheart, and keep you forever....
Audrey Bonnett
March 27, 2017
Rebecca. I am saddened beyond words to learn of Manon. My heart goes out to you and sends you love, strength, and compassion as you navigate the rocky waters of losing a child. The understanding of friends, the memories of loving a daughter, and the dreams that you share will help you to remember her talented, kind, compassionate, and loving spirit. We have two angel daughters in heaven, looking over us and giving us their love and strength to go on.
In Peace and Love,
Audrey Bonnett
John Tubridy
March 24, 2017
Rebecca I just heard about your tragic loss of your beautiful, Manon. I am so sorry for your loss and my prayers are with you. I know how very much she meant to you. What a beautiful written obituary.
Allison Drash
March 18, 2017
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Sohn,
I am very sorry for your loss. I knew Manon from her time working as lab manager at Carnegie Mellon. I'd look forward to our daily visits when she was working with the children from the CMU Children's School. Manon quickly became a friend, always open and willing to honestly share her thoughts and feelings, and sincerely interested in how I was doing. She had a very special way with children. A quiet confident calm, coupled with an easy laugh and wonderful sense of humor that delighted children. Simply put, Manon was kind. I will miss knowing that her earthly self is no longer with us but find enormous comfort knowing that her undeniable positive light still shines brightly into the dim corners of our world. I wish for you comfort and peace in the days ahead.
Susanne Mauree
March 18, 2017
What a beautiful tribute to an outstanding young lady, Rebecca. I am overwhelmed by all her achievements and talents and accomplishments at such a young age. Mannon was gorgeous in every way. I am so sorry I didn't attend the Memorial service. I have the flu which has kept me home bound. I am so very sorry for your loss and the worlds loss of such a talented, intelligent , gifted and compassionate young woman. Love, Susie Maurer
Ms Teri Gilmore
March 18, 2017
She was a sweet and gentle young lady. I had spoken with her between ADP courses on several occasions where she encouraged me to support my Grandchildren's love for instruments and music. I am in awe.
a friend
March 17, 2017
Although I did not know Manon, she must have been a wonderful young lady. You have my deepest sympathy.
Jeanne Pelayo
March 17, 2017
Bob and Becky,
With warm thoughts and prayers, may your heart and soul find peace and comfort.
Cheryl Augustine Shillcutt
March 16, 2017
My mother cared for Manon from the time she was a newborn baby. My mother loved her and will welcome her into heaven. So very sorry for your loss.
1998 Manon the Flower Girl
Kelly Donnelly
March 16, 2017
I was blessed to have seen that amazing smile just as many others were also blessed with your gracefulness and kind heart ❤
Brenda Tagg
March 16, 2017
When I think of Manon, I think of a quiet gentleness and a quiet intelligence,....an observer of people and of the world,..of wisdom beyond the scope of her years.
Traits such as understanding, sincerity, kindness, and a good listener are remembered.
When I think of Manon, I think of a beautiful young woman with an old soul.
Oh Manon, my heart aches that you are no longer in this world, but my spirit seeks to temper this pain with the realization that you are now in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father.
To Bob and Becky,... I can find no words to express my heartfelt sorrow for the loss of your beautiful and very special girl. Please know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Ray Fedorko
March 16, 2017
I had the opportunity to see and hear Manon perform on stage at Sewickley Academy when she was student there. Even at that age, she was poised and talented beyond her years. I remember being mesmerized by her hands dancing around the harp strings, and the music, it was, well, heavenly. My heart breaks for her parents, family and friends at this tragic loss. Those of us who were touched by her music mourn as well.
Stephanie smigiel
March 15, 2017
I met Manon when we were five years old in kindergarten. We instantly had an incredible Bond. When she went to Sewickley we continue to remain very close friends. I even moved to the same street that she lived on. Throughout our years together we always made time for each other. I recall often telling my parents I needed Manon time. We were best friends as we went through many tragedies together. But it only made the happy moments even more beautiful. Manon taught me what a friend was and how to love another person. Throughout her friendships we always made time for each other whether it was in person or on Skype. We kept our friendship the strongest I have ever known. And though I may not be able to physically see her touch her or even Skype I know she will remain in my heart and in the hearts of everyone she has touched. She was a beautiful young woman and I am blessed to call her my best friend. We have a love and a friendship that will always last and eternity.
Carly Tustin
March 15, 2017
Manon and I graduated from Sewickley Academy together - around the holidays I saw her when I was working at Anthropologie and it was as if no time had passed. We reconnected on "life after graduation", old friends, and one of our favorite stores. She had a genuine passion for other people, she was gentle and radiant, she was so very talented, and she was brilliant - it always seemed as if everything came to her in such a natural and graceful way. I am so sorry for your loss - she will be so very missed.
Maryann Liddle
March 15, 2017
I'm so terribly sorry for your loss...she was a Beautiful Girl...she will be truly missed.
March 15, 2017
Manon was my student at Sewickley Academy in sixth grade science. My heart aches for your family at the devastating loss of such a talented and kind soul.
Sincerely,
Lisa Heberling
D S
March 15, 2017
Your Day came way too soon. You were an angel on earth and now you are an Angel in Heaven... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqWHaDG5TZs
March 15, 2017
I did not know Manon. I am just a person who scrolls through obituaries now and then. I just wanted to say that she sounded like an amazing person. Someone who should not have left this world so soon. I am truly sorry for your loss.
March 15, 2017
Your Day came way too soon, but You are now in a better place living as an Angel... <3(3)... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk0oYZ5m-Hs
Sam Thomas
March 15, 2017
Manon was my first friend at Sewickley & we have been friends for 13 plus years. We have so many memories. When I think of home (Pittsburgh) I think of her. I will miss her contagious laugh, her kindness, and our friendship. Her spirit will live forever on. May she rest in peace.
Sam Thomas
March 15, 2017
Manon was my first friend at Sewickley & we have been friends for 13 plus years. We have so many memories. When I think of home (Pittsburgh) I think of her. I will miss her contagious laugh, her kindness, and our friendship. Her spirit will live forever on. May she rest in peace.
Kristen Farrell
March 15, 2017
Rebecca,
There are no words, my heart goes out to you at this very difficult time. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Mark Venti
March 15, 2017
You were a precious gift to the world and to all who loved
you dearly. We mourn your loss and wish your kind and gentle spirit rests in
peace, Cousin Jeannine Amos and Mark Venti
Susan Coen
March 15, 2017
Rebecca and family,
I can't imagine your grief and sadness. What an amazing young woman. My heart is with you.
c t
March 15, 2017
Please find comfort from God's word during this time.Luke7: 11-15
Kim Smigiel
March 15, 2017
forever loved
alaina Raftis
March 14, 2017
Manon was the sweetest, smartest girl and never had an unkind thing to say about anyone or a mean bone in her body. I remember riding the bus with her all throughout grade school and I'll never forget how soft and kind she was to everyone. We took Italian together and she was always at the top of the class. May she Rest In Peace. I'm so sorry to hear about this tremendous loss.
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