Emeline Irene Dunham

Emeline Irene Dunham, 20, known as Emma or Emmie to family and friends, never liked to run, but she ran straight into Jesus's arms at 1:06a.m. on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, after complications from SVC Syndrome and multiple chronic health conditions after an extended stay (37 days) in the hospital.

Emeline Irene Dunham (Emma) was born on October 10, 2005, in Iowa City, Iowa. A diagnosis of Down Syndrome was part of her genetic make-up, but it never defined Emma. From an early age, she showed her parents and the rest of the world that she would not be bound by expectations. By 2 months of age, Emma's "village" began growing, as multiple Interventionists and therapists were a regular part of her life and routine in Grundy Center, Iowa, where her family resided. A typical month would include as many as 20 appointments, both in home and at therapy centers. When Emma was 2 and a half, her family moved to Bloomfield, Iowa. Emma started PreSchool (Early Childhood Special Education) classes at Davis County Elementary the week after her 3rd birthday. Emma attended DCES for 3 years, and started first grade there, when her parents made the choice to withdraw her from school and homeschool her. Emma was homeschooled from 1st through 5th grade, and enjoyed being a part of the Davis County School District's Homeschool Co-op. She also participated in Clover Kids, American Heritage Girls Club, Sparks/Awana Club, began taking piano lessons, and continued her weekly PT, OT, and Speech Therapies.

At the conclusion of her 4th grade year, Emma's family moved from Bloomfield to Wapello, Iowa. Emma continued to be homeschooled for 5th grade, but the next school year, her parents enrolled her in Wapello Community Schools, where Emeline was elated to have the opportunity to be with other kids. She particularly loved her teachers and paras, each of whom became not only an educational support to her, but, more importantly, an important part of her circle of special friends. While in junior high and high school, Emma participated in drama productions, and was the manager for the high school volleyball team all 4 years of high school--a job she was particularly proud of. Emma also participated in many of the individual sport options in Special Olympics from age 8 to 19. She loved to show people her medals for competing in bowling, basketball, volleyball, track and field, softball, powerlifting, soccer, and snowshoeing.

Emma graduated from Wapello High School with the class of 2025. After graduating, Emma's daily schedule transitioned from attending school, to attending Mott's DayHab in Wapello, where she enjoyed making new friends and participating in all of the activities they had to offer. She enjoyed having 1:1 workers who came to the house to be with her before and after DayHab. During their time together, Emma's aides worked with her on cooking, cleaning, and exercise goals. Emma loved her routine and quickly became attached to the workers from DayHab and New Choices. Each of them became a much-loved part of her life.

During the summers, Emma loved going to camp. Many years she was unable to go due to health reasons, but when she was able to go, Emma loved being a camper at Camp JOY Bible Camp in Ava, Missouri. It was there, when Emma was 12 years old, that Emma made the most important decision of her life---to accept Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. Her mom was privileged to talk with Emma and pray with her as Emma committed her life to Jesus. She returned home from camp eager to be baptized, and her Papa Carlson baptized her at Bethany Baptist Church in Galesburg, Illinois a few weeks later. Another camp that was much-loved by Emma was Camp Bangarang (a camp for children with chronic health conditions, now Second Star Children's Camp). This yearly weekend of Fall Family Camp was always a highlight for Emma as she looked forward to all the different activities there, and seeing old friends from years before.

Emma loved to travel. She had a goal of visiting all 50 states, but fell short of her goal by 5 states. Her "Make a Wish" Trip to Hawaii in 2024 was a favorite trip, as was the Alaska cruise she went on with her extended family. Emma loved Branson and Silver Dollar City. She loved road trips and stopping at gas stations to buy snacks and drinks along the way.

Nearly every day, Emma would go through her entire collection of Patch the Pirate CDs and lay them out in the order she intended to listen to them, and if she was in a vehicle, they were playing. If she was in her bedroom, Patch was playing on her Kindle. Music fed Emma's soul. In addition to music at home, Emma loved to sing at church, often lagging behind a note or two, but that didn't stop her from belting it out with gusto. Emma didn't care what people thought, she just wanted to "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord." She also took very seriously the role she self-appropriated of choosing the songs for each week's Sunday services. Several years ago, she began creating a list of songs she wanted the church to sing, and each week after Sunday morning service, she would take her list to our Pastor, who would save the list (and use it to help choose the songs for the next week). On the rare occasion that we were not going to be at church, Emma always worried about missing out on singing her songs--the songs she had chosen. In addition to her "song-picking" ministry, Emma told Pastor she wanted to serve the Lord by cleaning the church. Unfortunately, due to her worsening health issues, she was only able to do so a few times, before her health kept her from going.

Church has always been an integral part of Emma's life. Emma had a special relationship with every pastor she had and she loved them fiercely. Her spiritual growth was a priority to her, and the older she got, the more it became so. She was dedicated to reading her Bible independently. Around age 8 or 9, Emma started saying, "I was put on this earth to tell people about Jesus, and to spread His name everywhere." She fully believed and embraced that challenge, and for the rest of her life she often reminded her parents that was her number one priority. It was pretty standard for Emma to ask people, "Do you know Jesus?" She worried about people's eternal destiny, and prayed for them to come to know Jesus. When she heard that someone had died, she would always ask, "Did they know Jesus?" and if the answer was yes, she would say, "Oh, I am so excited for them! This is their best day EVER!" If the answer was no, she often wept. Emma had just started attending the Young Adult Ladies Bible Study Group before her health declined; she loved participating in that with those ladies.

Emma loved to look at houses and real estate on the internet. She delighted in finding properties priced in the multi-millions of dollars and then coming in to announce to her parents: "We're moving. I've found us a house." It didn't matter where it was, or how many zeros there were in the price. "We're moving. Let's get packing!" she'd say. Emma loved Little Debbie snack cakes, M&M's, chocolate chip cookies (especially from the hospital!) SpongeBob Squarepants, playing Uno, and her birthday. But more than any of those, she loved Jesus, she loved her people, and she loved her 3 miniature dachshunds: Suzy-Q, Shorty, and Sammy.

Starting at age 3, Emma regularly began acquiring new diagnoses at the U of I Children's Hospital, routinely seeing doctors in 13 different specialty areas by her 12th birthday. A typical month would have anywhere from 4-6 appointments; some months, more. Every year had hospital admissions, the number and length of them varied year-by-year, depending on what was going on with her health at that particular time. Emma was proud to be a participant in a research cohort at the NIH (National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland) to learn more about APS-1 (Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome, type 1) and new treatment options for it. She had a kidney transplant in 2019, which significantly improved her quality of life and gave her renewed energy to continue to enjoy living life to the fullest.

Emma is survived by her parents, Bill and Barb Dunham of Wapello, grandparents Anita Carlson and Harold Dunham, Aunts Joy Carlson, Donna Downing, Jessica Dunham, Laurie Dunham, and Becky Whitaker, Uncles Jon Carlson, David Dunham, Philip Dunham, and many cousins and second-cousins, and special friends Kaden Yerington, Jaren Frank, Kelsi Gerels, Toni Bohlen, Steve Bohlen, Kristin Yotter, Deb Flaugh, Tricia Lanz, Steve and Julie Waldstein, Terry, Missy, Alicia, and Devin Mosley, and Keri Butler, Emma's beloved kidney donor and chief hospital hijinks coordinator and chicken ranch wrap and chocolate shake provider. Awaiting Emma's arrival in Heaven were her Grandmother Irene Dunham, step-Grandmother Clara Dunham, Grandfather John Carlson, Uncle Jimmie Whitaker, and many precious friends Emma was so excited to see.

Visitation will be on Tuesday, January 27th at Solid Rock Baptist Church in Wapello from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, with the funeral starting at 12:00. Following the service will be a luncheon at the church. The Burial and Graveside service will be at East Linwood Cemetery in Galesburg, Illinois on Wednesday, January 28th at 10 a.m. Memorial contributions may be directed to the family for gifts in Emma's name to entities that work to spread the Gospel. Hinchliff-Pearson-West Funeral and Cremation Services of Galesburg is honored to serve the family. Online condolences and memories may be shared at www.h-p-w.com.