Lauren Yeboah-Mantey

Born in Cincinnati, OH March 23, 1994, the only daughter of Dan and Ann (Thoreson) Simerlink, Lauren exhibited a fiery, yet sensitive precociousness from the start, manifesting itself with her self-designed miniature clay animal creations, which she exhibited at art shows at the Baker Hunt Art and Cultural Center in Covington, KY., Lane Library in Fairfield, OH, and other Cincinnati exhibits. A poet at heart, she produced many poems during her sixth and seventh-grade years at Mercy Montessori in East Walnut Hills

After attending Butler County Christian Academy and Cincinnati Christian Academy from Kindergarten through second grade, Lauren was homeschooled, then attended Mercy Montessori Center during sixth and seventh grades, which she found to be a warm and welcoming atmosphere. Lauren graduated from Clark Montessori in 2013. While at Clark she ran on the Cross-Country team for four years and was a member of one of the Steel Drum Bands, which she deeply loved. Lauren also completed intermediate-level ASL American Sign Language classes at St. Rita School for the deaf in Cincinnati, fulfilling a lifelong dream of becoming an ASL signer & interpreter.

She entered the University of Toledo as a full academic scholarship student and member of the Honors College, where she received a bachelor’s degree as a special education intervention specialist. While at UT Lauren was a weekly tutor for the English Corner, a service for international students seeking to improve their conversational English. This gave her the opportunity to develop relationships with international students who were new to the United States. Lauren was involved in H2O, a University of Toledo Christian student fellowship. In December of 2015 she married the love of her life, Emmanuel Yeboah Mantey, in Cincinnati, OH. She graduated with a 4.0, summa cum laude from UT in May, 2017. Her Honors project was a writing a primer for professionals to recognize and intervene with victims of human trafficking which was highly praised by faculty members.

After college graduation Lauren worked as an Intervention Specialist for elementary-aged children with disabilities at Southwest Preparatory Academy, starting in fall of 2017. She gave birth to Christopher Yeboah Mantey on Feb. 7, 2018. Lauren had just returned for her second year of teaching when she became ill, discovering she had metastatic breast cancer. After a steady decline in health at Christ hospital she was transferred to Cleveland Clinic where she received excellent care, but ultimately succumbed – not to the cancer itself, which was greatly reduced from the first chemotherapy treatment - but to the septic shock that resulted from a port that was inserted at Cincinnati Christ Hospital, which became infected - from which she never recovered.

Although her life was brief, it never lacked meaning for herself or those around her. Lauren was an apprentice artist for Cincinnati Artworks during the summer between her eighth and ninth grades, assisting in the painting of the East Walnut Hills Legacy Mural on Woodburn Ave. She took painting lessons which she loved, from Cincinnati artist Lisa Merida-Paytes. For two summers during junior high she volunteered as a camp counselor at Stepping Stones Summer Day Camp for children with disabilities in Indian Hill, followed by four summers of employment there during high school.

During her high school years and during her college winter and spring breaks Lauren also served as an ASL interpreter/signer for Christ’s Church of the Deaf at Western Hills Church of Christ, Cincinnati. She also served as a volunteer for the Deaf & Family & Friends Summer Camp for 3 summers in a row during high school and college. During the summers during college, Lauren worked as a teacher at Cornerstone Christian Preschool in Cincinnati, OH. Her legacy lives on in the hearts of all those who love children, are unselfish, and never draw attention to themselves.

She is survived by her devoted husband, Emmanuel Yeboah Mantey of Cincinnati; son, Christopher of Cincinnati; parents, Dan and Ann Simerlink of Rochester, MN; brothers, John of Columbus; and Ryan of Ann Arbor, MI. She is also survived by her grandparents, John and Clara Simerlink of Beaver Creek, Ohio; aunt, Debbie Simerlink of Hagerstown, Maryland; uncle Greg (Cindy) Simerlink of Egg Harbor, New Jersey; uncle Eric (Michelle) Thoreson, of Santa Clara, CA; and aunt Vicki Laverde (Chuck Childers) of Toledo, OH, as well as many cousins. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Rudy and Joanne Thoreson. Visitation will be on Monday December 10, 2018 at The White Oak Christian Church 3675 Blue Rock Rd Cincinnati, OH 45247 from 10:00AM until the time of the funeral at 12:00PM with Pastor Rick Shonkwiler officiating with burial to follow in Arlington Memorial Gardens.

Two memorial options benefitting Emman and Christopher, are as follows if you are able/willing: Method #1: Contribute to a 529 educational savings plan for Christopher. Emman will be able to use the account to pay for Christopher's educational expenses, from kindergarten through college. Contributions can be made directly to the plan, by following the below link, and entering the code linked to Christopher's account. Link: https://www.ugift529.com Code: K9P-Y2U Method #2: Contribute to a GoFundMe campaign to assist Emman in covering Lauren's remaining medical expenses, funeral expenses, time off work, and other miscellaneous costs. Contributions can be made by following the below link: https://www.gofundme.com/lauren-yeboahmantey039s-burial-amp-ceremony THE WEBSTER FUNERAL HOME is serving the family. www.websterfuneralhomes.com