Eliana Frances Honig, the infant daughter of Elizabeth Anne (Coyne) Honig and Christopher James Honig, died April 16, 2016 at Lurie Children's Hospital in Chicago, IL. She was born on February 17, 2016 at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, IL.

Eliana was a strong, brave and feisty little girl. Full of life despite being born with epidermolysis bullosa, a rare genetic disease characterized by extremely fragile skin and painful recurrent blistering, Eliana refused to be defined solely by her diagnosis.

In the two short months that Eliana lived she developed a unique personality that burst the walls of her isolette – learning to lift her head up; self-soothing by putting her right arm next to her face; throwing punches at her nurses during dressing changes; sleeping in her breach-baby position with her legs straight up in the air and moving her lips as she instinctually sucked for a nipple; eating breastmilk by a pacifier; recognizing her parents' voices and turning her head back and forth as they talked to her from either side of her crib; listening to classical, the Beatles, wind sounds, live guitar and singing, all to the backdrop of sound-machine-produced crickets; basking in the sunshine that filtered through the east-facing window in her room; snuggling with her parents; visiting with her grandparents; reading Harry Potter, the Wind and the Willows, Winnie the Pooh and more short stories than she could count; staring at Mr. Fox, Ms. Bear, and Mr. Raccoon hanging above her from her mobile; crying in pain or annoyance or even sadness; being soothed with shushes and light touches; sharing in those magic quiet awake periods, her eyes dancing and sparkling with anyone that visited her. Eliana was strong, beautiful and brave in life and in death.

She is survived by her parents Christopher and Elizabeth, her grandparents Jim and Sheryl Honig and Frank and Luann Coyne, her great-grandparents Melvin and Joan Vahrenhorst and Lucy Honig, her uncle Tim Honig and his fiancé Stacey Day, and her aunt Shannon Coyne.

She was preceded in death by her great-grandparents Martin Honig, Wirth Tennant, Jane Tennant, Frank Coyne, and Marilyn Coyne.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, April 24, 2016 at 4:00 p.m. at Faith Lutheran Church , 41 N. Park Boulevard, in Glen Ellyn, IL with Rev. James K. Honig officiating. Interment will be private.

In lieu of flowers, memorials in honor of Eliana may be directed to debra of America , 75 Broad St., Suite 300 New York, NY 10004 ( www.debra.org ) or Acacia Park Lutheran Church , 4307 N. Oriole Ave. Norridge, IL 60706, which will donate the funds to debra , a non-profit organization supporting families with and research of EB.