Family and friends distinctly remember how nervous Tracy (Cooling) Schilling was the first time she spoke at the Lyle Area Cancer Auction to pledge money raised at her Halfway to January Cancer Bash.

“If I was an oak tree, she was shaking so hard I wouldn’t have had a leaf on me,” auction co-chair Larry Ricke said, as he and Tracy’s sister, Tara Phelps, stood on stage with Tracy to support her.

But the last time she spoke at the auction, Tracy, 52, was accustomed to talking in front of the LAC crowd.

“Last year, she could have spoken for the whole event,” Phelps said.

The 2014 auction proved to be Tracy’s last, as she passed away Thursday, Dec. 11, 2014. She left an indelible mark on the auction, its organizers, and her family and friends with her perseverance and positive attitude.

Gary and Cindy Ziegler, two longtime LAC volunteers, described their friend as a courageous, inspirational person.

“Heaven gained a remarkable woman,” Cindy said.

‘Just a good person’

Tracy was born March 15, 1962, in Austin, Minnesota, and was raised in London, Minnesota, and graduated with the class of 1980 from Lyle High School. She lived for several years in London and Lyle.

Tracy’s life changed forever in 2004 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After her diagnosis, she attended the Lyle Area Cancer Auction and decided she needed to be a part of the event. In 2006, she formed the Halfway to January Cancer Bash, which was held yearly in June — the same month she was first diagnosed with cancer.

Though she beat breast cancer, Tracy underwent the recommended colonoscopy after turning 50, even though she’d had no symptoms. The test found she had colon cancer.

Doctors diagnosed Schilling with signet cell cancer — a rare, aggressive type of stomach cancer — in 2012, and with metastatic colon cancer in 2013. Her cancer later spread.

Tracy may have been nervous talking at the auction that first year, but she became an outspoken advocate for cancer screenings, and told fellow LAC organizers that she’d talk to anyone going through something similar to her.

“I can’t stress how strong she was,” Ricke said.

As she battled cancer for several years, Tracy always had a smile on her face and an upbeat attitude, according to friends and family.

“She was just a good person that loved life,” said Patricia Peters, Tracy’s mother. “She was good with everybody.”

Tracy’s attitude was infectious, as Peters told of how Mayo Clinic doctors in Rochester praised Tracy’s demeanor as uplifting. Even as family and friends went to say goodbye to Tracy last week, Peters said her daughter was still telling them to be upbeat.

“She’d say, ‘Don’t cry; be happy,’” Peters said.

Peters admitted she can be a bit negative, and her daughter urged her to be positive.

Cindy recalled Tracy’s favorite phrase was “God is good, life is good.”

The Zieglers said Tracy always valued her friends.

“If you were her friend, you were her friend forever, and she treasured it deeply,” Cindy said.

Tracy’s last bash

Tracy’s determination was evident this summer when she held the Halfway to January Cancer Bash after taking the previous year off, even as her health declined.

“She was so determined to make it happen this last June, despite how she felt, and she pushed through and made it happen,” Gary said.

Some people tried to convince her not to hold the bash in June, but Tracy was determined for the event to return.

“I just never know what plan God has got for me, and I just could be here a month; I could be here another year,” Tracy told the Herald in June. “I need to do this for myself. I want to do it. I can do it.”

The event happened with help from her family and LAC volunteers. The money raised is set to be pledged to the 37th Lyle Area Cancer Auction on Jan. 16 and 17. It will be one of several events that should help the auction surpass $2 million raised to help fight cancer.

LAC leaders promised it will be an emotional weekend.

“She put a mark on everybody’s heart, I can guarantee you that,” Ricke said.

Gary described Tracy as one the five most important volunteers in LAC’s history.

“She’s pretty near and dear to us,” Gary said.

The first year of the Halfway to January Cancer Bash also happened to be the first year LAC raised more than $100,000 — a number surpassed every year since.

“Coincidence? Maybe not,” Gary said.

The bash wasn’t the only way Tracy stayed active this past year. She checked several items off her bucket list. In June, she went on a hot air balloon ride.

Though she didn’t check off some items — like going on the “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” or riding in a combine — she did accomplish what she called her chief goal: spending time with family and friends, especially her granddaughter, Haydyn; her son, Jordan, and his girlfriend, Brittany; her son, Alexander, and his wife, Crystal; her mother and stepfather, Pat and Dale Peters; her sister, Tara; her brother and sister-in-law, Todd and Ronda Cooling; her brother, Michael Cooling, and Steve Luce; and her many nieces, nephews and friends.

In October, Tracy went on a hayride with family and friends, where she got some good news — that her cancer bash would live on. Phelps said Tracy’s sons, Jordan and Alex, told their mother they plan to continue the Halfway to January Cancer Bash.

“That really meant the world to her to know that that would continue,” Phelps said.

At June’s bash, LAC organizers bought Tracy a special maple tree to plant in her yard, which she wanted to plant so her grandaughter, Haydyn, would know that was Grandma Tracy’s tree.

“It was very, very special to her,” Cindy said.

Though friends and family were sad to lose an inspirational figure last week, they were glad she is at peace after her battle with cancer.

“I’m just glad she’s in a better place and not suffering,” Ricke said.

Likewise, Peters is happy her daughter is with her father, Roger Cooling.

Never forgotten

Along with her smile, fighting attitude and upbeat demeanor, Tracy was a meticulous organizer. Phelps remembered even when cancer bash leaders would say, “It’s good enough,” Tracy would insist, “It’s got to be perfect.”

Tracy loved NASCAR, especially Dale Earnhardt, and decorated her computer room with Earnhardt memorabilia and his No. 3. Ever the organizer, Tracy arranged for her funeral to be Friday, Dec. 19, at 3:03 p.m. at Our Saviours Lutheran Church in Lyle, handling most of the arrangements herself.

According to Phelps, Tracy always knew the best gifts for family members, because she put a great deal of thought into presents and remembered if someone would share about their interests.

Tracy also loved the Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Twins and Minnesota Vikings. She also loved shopping, and Peters joked she was a bit of a hoarder, but mainly because she couldn’t pass on a great deal.

“She liked to buy when it was on sale,” she said.

Tracy recently found a candy dispenser on sale to be put at the auction each year and stocked with M&Ms, with all the proceeds set to go to the auction. Tracy gave the dispenser — along with money to stock it — to Gary and Cindy. It will serve as just one reminder of the legacy she leaves behind at the auction.

“I don’t think she realized the impact that she had, but all her family realizes it, and we are so very proud,” Phelps said.

Tracy will not be forgotten. As inspired by a letter from her niece, Tracy’s family plans to have a red mylar balloon at birthday parties, weddings, LAC events and more to signify that she’ll always be with them.

“We will always have a red balloon at these events, and she will be there with us,” Phelps said.