Kayla Marie Murphy -- Kellogg

A celebration of life for Kayla Marie Murphy, 22, of Green Bay, Wis., formerly of Kellogg, will be held at noon Monday at The Immaculate Conception Church in Kellogg with Father James Russell officiating.

Visitation will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 on Sunday at the church. A visitation will also be held one hour before the church service on Monday.

Kayla joined our heavenly Father on Saturday, July 13, 2013, after an eight-year battle with anorexia nervosa. She was born on July 31, 1990, to Martin and Angela (Evers) Murphy. She was raised in rural Kellogg where she attended PEM high school and graduated with honors. Kayla enrolled in Marquette University in September 2008 and majored in biomedical science.

At Marquette, Kayla met the love of her life, Michael Falk, and spent a wonderful four years with Michael, her friends and the Marquette faculty. In May 2012, Kayla graduated summa cum laude from Marquette University.

With her degree in hand, Kayla pursued her love of children and passion for science and dedicated her life to inspiring children to be all that they were capable of. She completed the Teach for America academy in Oklahoma, and then relocated to Green Bay where she helped start the STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) program at The Fox Valley Boys & Girls' Club in Appleton, Wis. The hundreds of children she touched along her journey will miss her greatly. Kayla loved animals, and she especially loved camping and riding her horses. Her true passion was working with children and helping people. She touched peoples' hearts.

Kayla is survived by her loving parents, Martin and Angela (Evers) Murphy and her brother, Mitchell Murphy of Kellogg. Also surviving her are her long-term boyfriend, Michael Falk, of Green Bay; her paternal grandparents, Don and Lorraine Murphy of Kellogg, and her maternal grandparents, Elmer (Ike) and Mary Evers of Lake City; Michael's parents Tom and Karen Falk of Dallas Texas. She is further survived by her aunts and uncles; Jason and Nicole (Brown) Ever of Lake City, Steve and Patricia (Murphy) Flies of Plainview, Tim Murphy of Altura, Dan and Julie (Sullivan) Murphy of Plainview and Larry Kjellson of Osceola, Iowa; and many, many cousins.

She was preceded in death by her aunts Jean (Murphy) Kjellson and Theresa Murphy; and uncles Gary Murphy, Michael Murphy and Anthony Evers

Kayla's favorite flower was the bright, Gerber daisy, so we ask that you help us celebrate Kayla's life by wearing bright colors to her celebration of life. In lieu of flowers, a memorial will be established to set up a scholarship fund in Kayla's name, to help bring awareness to others about anorexia nervosa, and to help the children at the Boys & Girls' Club.

Condolences also may be made on her Caring Bridge page.

Schad & Zabel Funeral Home in Plainview is in charge of the arrangements. www.schadandzabelfuneralhomes.com