Ava Lee Phelps

RALEIGH- Ava Lee Phelps passed away in the embrace of her family on July 31, 2021, at Duke University Hospital. She was born that same day, to Lee and Courtney Phelps of Raleigh, NC. She was so loved and so wanted by her family. While the time together was short, Ava will forever be in the heart of her family.

In addition to her parents, Ava is survived by her sister, Lyla Phelps; paternal grandparents, Bob and Pat Phelps; maternal grandparents, Tim and Shelley Harmon; uncles and aunts, Brian and Kaitlan Phelps, Matthew Phelps, Justin and Kristen Jolly; and cousins, Paxton Phelps, Sadie Phelps, Layton Jolly, Jordyn Jolly.

A private graveside will be held.

A Light Too Bright.

It’s a dark night in paradise. A rooftop deck overlooking an invisible turbulent ocean. Overhead, the Carolina blue sky has been replaced with ominous looking clouds that are blocking the light of the stars. Flashes of brilliant white light cascade across the sky emanating bursts of energy and providing definition to the otherwise faceless shapes that surround me. With each flash, a brief feeling of excitement and fear surges through my system. I have always liked storms.

Not five minutes before, I was downstairs in a small crowded living room filled with other members of our family. The room is loud with the laughter of your cousins, Layton and Jordyn. Tagging along with them is your big sister, Lyla who is adding to the usual craziness that little girls generate when confined in a tight space. You are even jumping around inside mommy a little extra this evening. A card game of Uno is coming that will do little to dissipate the energy for the rest of the evening. As I stand in the kitchen, I can see lightning growing in intensity outside the otherwise blank windows filled with the darkness of night. I know there is still time to go to the rooftop and enjoy a brief moment as God ushers in another brilliant but dangerous light show.

Back on the rooftop, as this brief moment draws out and my rum glass empties, I can feel the clouds dropping lower. I can see the lightning starting to intensify in both brightness and frequency. There are moments where it seems the sky can’t make up its mind if it is night or day. Thunder booms over the ocean and our little spot on the island. I look around and take in the moment. Something even made me pick up my phone at shoot a brief video of God’s work. As I put my phone down, I close my eyes to enjoy the final moments of peaceful solitude but the light from the flashes is just too bright.

I wish I knew at the time what I was actually witnessing. As your father, I don’t know exactly when your last moment with us here on Earth occurred. Only God and possibly your mother really know something like that. However, as I look back on this night, I am convinced that all of this powerful and dangerous beauty was God coming to take his angel home. An angel named, Ava Lee. You may not have immediately joined Him in the sky at that very moment but this was your last night with us. I…. and the rest of the family just didn’t know it.

The door to the deck flies open, your cousins, followed by a nervous Lyla (your sister doesn’t care much for storms) come pouring out onto the deck. Instantly, I come back to myself. My rum glass is now empty and I am now being begged to join the rest of the family for the card game craziness where Lyla will surely reveal to the entire group every card in her hand and I will certainly endure endless body attacks from Jordyn. I rise from the chair and take one last look at the sky. Rain is near, thunder booms over the still turbulent ocean. Above all, the brilliant flashes of light dominate the atmosphere like a superstar of a Broadway show. I would later realize it was too much for this world. You were a light too bright.

All my love angel Ava,

-Daddy, Mommy and Lyla