Zain Caputa Memorial and Medical Fund
Donation protected
Zain Elizabeth Caputa passed away on February 16, 2019 at 4:20pm, at Integris Baptist Medical Center in Oklahoma City, overwhelmed by a sudden bacterial meningitis infection. She was 13 years old.
Zain was a unique young woman. She wanted to do it all and she approached everything from a different angle. She loved both baking and science equally, so she decided to become a molecular gastronomist. She loved makeup, discovering an intense interest in movie and special effects makeup. Wherever she went, she would join the people sitting alone and strike up a conversation:she never met a stranger. She looked for, and encouraged, the best in everyone she met. And she always looked on the bright side of life.
Zain shined from the day she was born, which was on a wonderfully typical, not shines at all, Pacific Northwest morning, February 1, 2006, at St Joseph’s hospital in Tacoma Washington. She began her life as the youngest resident at the University of Puget Sound, an honor proudly shared only with her younger brother, O’Quinn.
In 2008 she moved across the country, to Virginia Beach, where she grew up in the residence halls and town homes of Virginia Wesleyan College, touching the lives of faculty, staff, and students alike. She grew beyond the bounds of campus quickly, talking, dancing, and singing her way through Hampton Roads, impacting young and old through her increasing involvement in school activities like student council and the builders club, social events like Residence Life’s Seafood Party in the Dell and dance recitals, and as a proud, active member of her community.
In 2016 Zain relocated once again to Woodward, Oklahoma where she quickly announced that she had found her place. At Woodward Middle School she was involved in student government, academic team, band, and year book. In the community Zain was a Girl Scout and deeply involved in the theatre scene through On Stage Woodward.
Zain is survived by her brother, O’Quinn, her mother and father, McCarren and Nicholas Caputa, Grandparents, Carolyn Dean, Frank Dean (Wendy), and Charles and Laurie Caputa, Great Grandmothers, Pearl Smith and Patricia Rancatti and Great Grandfather, Carmelo Caputa, Aunts, Whitney Long (Mike), Nina Caputa, and Kristen Henson (Stephanie), and cousins, Emersyn, Matthew, and Reiley. She will also be missed by countless other family members, friends, and even the briefest of acquaintances. We all take comfort in knowing that her legacy will carry on through her gift of organ donation.
A celebration of Zain’s life will be held on Saturday, March 9, at 10am, at the First United Methodist Church in Woodward, Oklahoma, where we will remember the kindness of this special young woman and be reminded what it means to #livelikezain. All are welcome and encouraged to wear bright colors!
Funds raised here (along with those raised via MealTrain) will be used for Zain’s Celebration of Life, to help defray impending medical cost from Zain’s brief stay in PICU, and other family expenses during this time.
Any remaining funds will be donated, in Zain’s name, to LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma. LifeShare was, and continues to be, a beacon of hope and joy amidst our grief. Stay tuned for future opportunities to help support their important mission and honor Zain’s memory. ❤️
Zain was a unique young woman. She wanted to do it all and she approached everything from a different angle. She loved both baking and science equally, so she decided to become a molecular gastronomist. She loved makeup, discovering an intense interest in movie and special effects makeup. Wherever she went, she would join the people sitting alone and strike up a conversation:she never met a stranger. She looked for, and encouraged, the best in everyone she met. And she always looked on the bright side of life.
Zain shined from the day she was born, which was on a wonderfully typical, not shines at all, Pacific Northwest morning, February 1, 2006, at St Joseph’s hospital in Tacoma Washington. She began her life as the youngest resident at the University of Puget Sound, an honor proudly shared only with her younger brother, O’Quinn.
In 2008 she moved across the country, to Virginia Beach, where she grew up in the residence halls and town homes of Virginia Wesleyan College, touching the lives of faculty, staff, and students alike. She grew beyond the bounds of campus quickly, talking, dancing, and singing her way through Hampton Roads, impacting young and old through her increasing involvement in school activities like student council and the builders club, social events like Residence Life’s Seafood Party in the Dell and dance recitals, and as a proud, active member of her community.
In 2016 Zain relocated once again to Woodward, Oklahoma where she quickly announced that she had found her place. At Woodward Middle School she was involved in student government, academic team, band, and year book. In the community Zain was a Girl Scout and deeply involved in the theatre scene through On Stage Woodward.
Zain is survived by her brother, O’Quinn, her mother and father, McCarren and Nicholas Caputa, Grandparents, Carolyn Dean, Frank Dean (Wendy), and Charles and Laurie Caputa, Great Grandmothers, Pearl Smith and Patricia Rancatti and Great Grandfather, Carmelo Caputa, Aunts, Whitney Long (Mike), Nina Caputa, and Kristen Henson (Stephanie), and cousins, Emersyn, Matthew, and Reiley. She will also be missed by countless other family members, friends, and even the briefest of acquaintances. We all take comfort in knowing that her legacy will carry on through her gift of organ donation.
A celebration of Zain’s life will be held on Saturday, March 9, at 10am, at the First United Methodist Church in Woodward, Oklahoma, where we will remember the kindness of this special young woman and be reminded what it means to #livelikezain. All are welcome and encouraged to wear bright colors!
Funds raised here (along with those raised via MealTrain) will be used for Zain’s Celebration of Life, to help defray impending medical cost from Zain’s brief stay in PICU, and other family expenses during this time.
Any remaining funds will be donated, in Zain’s name, to LifeShare Transplant Donor Services of Oklahoma. LifeShare was, and continues to be, a beacon of hope and joy amidst our grief. Stay tuned for future opportunities to help support their important mission and honor Zain’s memory. ❤️
Organizer
McCarren Caputa
Organizer
Woodward, OK
