A Mililani family bid a fond farewell to their teenage daughter and younger sister Tuesday afternoon, but not before Sheryl Wolfe, 18, donated her organs at the Queen's Medical Center.


The reigning Miss Hawaii Teen United States suffered a massive stroke last Tuesday.

Sheryl Wolfe personified beauty and grace.

"My daughter she'd light everybody. People were down she'd have the right thing to say to them as far as knew how to bring their spirits up," says Allen Wolfe, Sheryl's father.

Lifting spirits with her smile and contagious personality.

"Sheryl basically stood out. Her personality, her dynamic spirit all of that the girls were very much attracted to her because she was a fun loving young lady," says Luana Alapa, the state pageant director.

"She had a lot of potential and it's kind of very sad that she's taken," says Sheryl's father.

Last Tuesday, the young woman with so much potential, suffered a medical rarity when she collapsed at Mililani High School.

"My daughter had brain hemorrhage while she was at school she was taken to Queen's Medical Center where she went on to have a stroke."

Allen Wolfe stares in disbelief. His youngest child who had showed no previous signs of health problems was pronounced brain dead Monday.

"She's always been yeah, it's just kind of totally unexpected out of the blue," says Allen.

Sheryl was kept alive until Tuesday afternoon in order to donate her organs.

"She actually made that decision herself she had it on her learner's permit the she wanted to be an organ donor."

"There's going to be four recipients today that will have new starts."

Wolfe was just starting her life. A professional model who had appeared on several television commercials. She was scheduled to compete in the Miss Hawaii Teen World USA Pageant next month.

"Sheryl lit up the stage wherever she went," says Alapa.

Allen Wolfe and his wife Estrella are still baffled as to what happened to their daughter as are doctors. Despite their pain, they are pleased to know their daughter is still touching lives.

"There are people now that are saying they want to donate their organs as a result of her actions," says Sheryl's father.

"I'm still in shock because she's just so young like you don't expect things like this to happen especially to your friends," says Miss Hawaii Junior Teen U.S.A. Ashlynn Pierceall.

"I miss her a lot."

A young teenager who obviously made a difference in her short time here.

"I would a trade my life in a heart beat -- I should be the one there she shouldn't be," says Sheryl's father.

It's still unclear what triggered Sheryl Wolfe's stroke.

While strokes in older patients are often due to blockage in blood vessels that's not the case in strokes in children and teenagers.

"Somewhat rare in that strokes just don't happen to young people," says Dr. Douglas Valenta, who specializes in vascular neurology.

"An isolated case like this, it's very difficult to predict that or prevent that," says Dr. Valenta.


"In younger patients they are so rare that it's often a very unusual cause - and more often a problem with the blood vessel or bleeding rather than a blockage although that can occur also," explains Dr. James Ireland, an Emergency Room Physician.

Sheryl Wolfe's senior prom was on Saturday night.

Friends say her date took a corsage to her hospital room.

On Monday night, she was given a queen's send-off by her pageant sisters.