Emily Duckworth

Beloved daughter, sister, granddaughter, niece and friend, Emily Marie Duckworth, 21, ended her battle with brain cancer on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017, surrounded by her family and friends in hospice care in Mt Airy, MD.

With her warm smile, her kindness, her gift for conversation and her unflagging sense of humor, Emily was loved in life, and she is missed in death. Even during her illness, Emily combined her wry sense of humor with her love for literature in naming the glioblastoma tumor that she fought as “Braino Malfoy,” after a character in the Harry Potter books.

Born on March 7, 1996, Emily was home-schooled and attended the Monocacy Home Educators’ Cooperative before earning an associate’s degree with honors in social work from Frederick Community College. In 2016, she began a program at UMBC for a bachelor’s degree in social work with the goal of one day earning her master’s degree.

A highly-skilled archer holding multiple state titles, Emily was a member of the Tuscarora Archers Junior Archery Olympic Development team, the Archery Learning Center Hornets Archery team and the US Archery Team. She danced at the Elite Feet Dance Studio, sang with the Frederick Children’s Chorus, and was a member of the staff at the Frederick Gymnastics Club. In keeping with her generous nature and strong sense of social responsibility to the community, Emily went on to become a teacher of archery, dance, and gymnastics while she was in school.

Emily is survived by her parents, William Duckworth Jr. and Lisa Bedinger Duckworth; sisters Mara Duckworth and Katherine Duckworth; brother William “Liam” Duckworth III; grandparents Katherine Powell of Meadville PA and John and Katherine Bedinger of Reston, VA; and the families of her aunts Katherine McGee and Alison Williams and her uncle Sean Bedinger. She was proceeded in death by her grandfathers William Duckworth and Steve Bowser and her grandmother Nora Farrell.

In lieu of flowers, a scholarship fund is being established in Emily’s name at Frederick Community College. Please make checks payable to Calvary United Methodist Church, and indicate Emily Duckworth Fund in the memo line.

Family and friends will hold a service to celebrate Emily’s life on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2018 at 2 p.m. at Calvary United Methodist Church, 403 S. Main Street, Mt. Airy. All are welcome to attend.

Expressions of sympathy may be offered at StaufferFuneralHome.com.