Elijah Ronald Pettinger

Elijah Ronald Pettinger went to be with the Lord on December the 8th, 2022 at the tender age of 10 years old. He was born July 17th, 2012 in Detroit to Randy and Ruth Pettinger and was a resident of China Township. He was born healthy, and at 14 months, he suffered a massive brain hemorrhage from a ruptured AVM that took away a lot of his function. He again suffered another two hemorrhages in 2020 that took more of his independence away and this last hemorrhage on December 8th was the final one that took his life. Elijah spent most of his life in a wheelchair, or some kind of device, but it never seemed to dampen his spirit. He found joy in almost anything. He loved seeing the people that he loved happy. He especially loved junk food and music. Before he lost his ability to swallow food safely, one of his favorite things to eat was a cheeseburger and chips. We did not take any of the time we had with him for granted as we lived with the reality of his diagnosis for most of his life. Eli had a way of making you realize what was important. Quality time. He couldn’t do much but give you a crooked stroke smile and verbalize in a babble language that was discernible to only a few, but that didn’t matter to him. Even in his death, Eli touched many lives with his story of perseverance, deep love, and faith in Jesus Christ. Although nothing can ever replace our son, we find great peace in knowing that he is in heaven with Jesus and is fully healed of all his pain. He is lovingly survived by his parents, Randy and Ruth Pettinger; brother, Gabriel; sister, Naomi; paternal grandparents, Ronald and Marsha Pettinger and maternal grandparents, John and Sherry Seppo. Eli has a large family and is also survived by many aunts, uncles and cousins. Eli was preceded in death by a cousin, Ruby Grace Hendrickson. A funeral service will be held Saturday December 17th at 11:00 a.m. at Fellowship Baptist Church, East China Twp. Private family interment will follow in Balfour Cemetery, China Twp. Visitation hours are Thursday December 15th from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. and Friday December 16th from 2:00 to 4:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Young Funeral Home, China Twp. and Saturday 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. at church prior to service. Memorials are suggested to the Children’s Hunger Fund or Midland’s Open Door Rescue Mission. To leave a message of comfort visit www.youngcolonial.com

Elijah Ronald Pettinger

July 17, 2012 - December 8, 2022