A young girl from Lakeland, Florida, has left behind a community struggling to find words adequate to describe the void her absence has created.
Arya Witmer passed away suddenly and without warning, leaving her parents, Eric and Miranda Witmer, her siblings, extended family, and an enormous circle of friends and community members heartbroken and searching for comfort in one another.
Eric Witmer took to social media in the days following his daughter’s passing to acknowledge the tremendous wave of support his family has received. He expressed that every message has been read, every prayer has been felt, and that the family is grateful beyond what words can properly convey.
He urged everyone who read his post to hold their loved ones tight and cherish every moment they have together, a reminder made all the more powerful by the circumstances behind it.
Arya was the kind of child people simply gravitated toward. Those who knew her describe a little girl with a personality far bigger than her size, someone who could walk into a room and immediately change the energy in it for the better.
She was playful, funny, warm, and had a natural ability to make people feel welcome and seen.
Friends, Coaches, and Teammates Remember a Girl Who Gave Everything She Had
At Sanctify, the martial arts program where Arya trained, coach Nick Barrett remembered her as a dedicated and joyful student whose smile greeted everyone the moment she arrived.
He described her as a wonderful teammate and athlete, and announced that the Sanctify team would be dedicating their upcoming tournament in Lakeland entirely in her honor as a way of celebrating the time they were fortunate enough to have with her.
The Bartow Youth Baseball community also felt her loss deeply. Arya had grown up around that ball field, spending evenings cheering on her siblings and cousins, scooting around the park with friends, and simply being a constant and beloved presence.
The organization released a statement calling the field a second home to her and made clear that the Witmer family has been a cornerstone of Bartow Baseball for many years. A Meal Train page was set up to help ease some of the burden the family now carries.
Fellow softball parent Marie Gonzalez shared one of the more tender memories circulating online, recalling how Arya would sit on her lap during games and chat away about life, martial arts, and her love of McDonald’s sausage McMuffins.
On one particularly hot day, the two sat together dipping their legs in a cooler and laughing without a care in the world. It is exactly the kind of moment those who loved her say defined who she was.
Her uncle Robert Jacob Dwyer described her passing as something none of them saw coming, writing that she left overnight without warning. He asked those who follow him to consider donating to the family and to keep the Witmers in their thoughts as everyone finds their own way through the grief.
Arya Witmer was loved loudly and will be missed in the same way.
