Shay Elyssa Fischer was a woman of steel, passed down from her mother, Shelley Crooks, and her grandmothers before her.

She inspired hundreds in Daviess County and around the nation through the last days of her 14-month battle with leukemia, which she lost early Monday morning, just days after her 19th birthday. She will be remembered for her strength, her faith and her happy spirit.

“She is probably the strongest person I’ve ever known,” said close friend, Katherine Allen.

Hundreds of people turned out for the blood and bone marrow drives in her honor during the past few months to help not just Shay, but many other people facing the same struggles. Throughout her illness, more than 1,500 left messages of love and support for her and her family on her Web site at www.caringbridge.org/visit/shay.

“I know of very few 18-year-olds who could have handled (cancer) the way she did,” said Shay’s stepfather, Dave Crooks.

Shay was diagnosed with acute myloid leukemia in April 2007 and received a clean bill of health near the end of that year. She relapsed in January and recently received a stem cell transplant from cord blood, which was working, said Dave, but she succumbed to the effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

One place Shay found her strength was in her faith. She began attending Berea Mennonite Church with her fiance, Kyle Stoll, about three years ago and found the Lord there. Her family feels there was a reason she found faith when she did, so she could face the cancer.

Shay was very devout with her religion, said her friend Abby McKee, and proud of her Mennonite faith.

Berea pastor Eddie Graber said Shay’s faith was very mature for her age. He called her quiet but a deep thinker. Though she might not have understood everything she was going through, she was at peace with it.

“During her sickness, she had a peaceful way about her,” he said. “She knew what she believed, and she wasn’t afraid to stand up for it.”

Friends say their favorite memories of Shay are when her classmates at North Daviess held a senior prom at Riley Hospital in Indianapolis when Shay couldn’t make it to the prom at school. They remember her smile and how her faith showed through her actions. Shay had many close friends from Washington and North Daviess schools since she had attended both.

Friend Ayrika Lengacher said she will always remember sitting in yearbook class with Shay talking about what to do over the weekend and about life. Ayrika said she felt she could go to Shay when she needed support and prayer.

“She was a wonderful friend to have,” said Ayrika. “She had something about her that helped a lot of people out.”

McKee remembers going out every weekend with Shay, always taking pictures of each other, driving to Indianapolis with her for the boys basketball state championship and attending graduation when Shay thought she wouldn’t be able to. Abby frequently visited Shay in the hospital, where they would look at wedding books together. Shay had asked Abby to be in her wedding.

“Every time I was with her, it was memorable,” said Abby.