Remembering a princess warrior
Honorary Idaho State Police Trooper Jaicey Lupton is surrounded by her ISP colleagues during a special ceremony May 31, 2022. A celebration of life for the young trooper will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Real Life Ministries in Post Falls. Jaicey, 8, died Sept. 1 after battling an undiagnosed terminal illness for several years.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press File
Lupton
Jaicey Lupton, center, is seen with dad Josh, mom Jessica and little bro Jaxon during the National Night Out event Aug. 1 in Hayden. A celebration of life will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday for Jaicey, who died Sept. 1. She was 8.
The community is invited to pay tribute to a young honorary member of the Idaho State Police, Jaicey Lupton, who died Sept. 1 in Seattle.
A celebration of life will be at 1 p.m. Saturday at Real Life Ministries, 1860 N. Cecil Road, Post Falls.
Jaicey was 8 years old.
“She was extremely fun and loving. She was extremely caring, but very rambunctious,” her mom, Jessica Lupton of Hayden, said Thursday.
Jaicey battled an undiagnosed terminal illness most of her life, accompanied by aneurysms and strokes. She endured never-ending tests and surgeries.
"She had this absolute drive for life, where even after all the surgeries and everything else, she absolutely never lost hope," Jessica Lupton said. "She was always willing to keep fighting for herself in the event that she needed to."
She described her daughter as a "princess warrior" who always took life head-on.
"She never shied away from any challenge," Lupton said. "She loved girly stuff, but she was as rough as they came. She loved gymnastics, she loved wrestling, she loved to sing, she loved all of her friends."
A lover of laughter, rainbows, unicorns, law enforcement and first responders, Jaicey was well known and celebrated by the Idaho State Police, which inducted her as an honorary member during a special ceremony May 31, 2022. ISP and other police agencies escorted the Luptons from Seattle when the family brought her body home Sept. 8.
"It’s been an honor and a privilege to work with this family and to pay our respects to Jaicey and the brave fight that she fought," ISP shared in a statement to The Press. "We want her to rest as peacefully as possible so we’re doing everything to make that happen."
Jessica Lupton chronicled Jaicey's journey on the Hope for Jaicey Facebook page.
"We really want to, at some point, help other people who have dealt with the same things we have," she said.
Those who attend the celebration are asked to bring chairs or blankets to sit on, as the event will be outside, and stuffed animals in lieu of flowers.
