Chloe Ann Polzin

It is with broken hearts that we announce the death of our precious daughter, Chloe Ann Polzin. In the early morning hours of January 19th, Chloe was involved in a tragic accident while visiting friends in Urbana/Champaign. This was one week after her 21st birthday. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and was declared officially at brain death on January 20th. That was not the end of Chloe’s story, though. She was a registered organ and tissue donor. After all the research, Gift of Hope was able to find recipients for every single one of her very healthy organs. On January 22nd, she created a legacy by being a full organ donor. Out of this tragedy, Chloe has already saved 5 lives and will impact numerous others through other donations. Chloe’s Cali mom, Rebekah, said it best as “when you use the light from one candle to light 1000 other candles, the light from the first never goes out.”

Chloe Ann Polzin was born on January 12, 2004, in Downers Grove, IL to Bryant and Jill Polzin. She was baptized, of her own choosing, on February 22, 2009. She was surprisingly empathetic as a child and had a way of connecting with people of any age. At the ages of 4 and 6, Chloe had to have surgical procedures for her heart. Out of this, she thought of the other kids in the children’s hospital and began to collect toys for those kids on her birthdays instead of presents for herself. She was also the top fundraiser for Jump Rope for Heart in elementary school. Chloe was all in for trying new things in life. During the pandemic, she and Jill got in touch with their science minded brains and learned how to make soap with friend Sarah. Chloe and Bryant were also learning about beekeeping (we have two hives) and Chloe helped us with a few years of extracting honey in the Kettlewell playhouse. She lived her life authentically for herself, not for a curated image of who anyone thought she should be. She stayed out of drama and remained grounded. She was a little nerdy and fully embraced that part of her.

Chloe was the first grandchild on both sides of the family and was immediately the center of attention. Chloe is survived by all 6 of her grandparents – Dale and Marilyn, Sharon and Kris, Jim and Dorothy. She taught them how to be grandparents and prepared them for her future cousins. With her grandparents, she enjoyed trips to St. Louis, Disney, Lake of the Ozarks, Grand Cayman, Colorado and Michigan. Chloe loved to fish in the Ozarks, collect sea glass on the beach in Michigan, and meet all the characters and princesses at Disney. At age 4, she even had a special meeting with the Belle and the Beast and got a kiss on the cheek from Sleeping Beauty. Chloe filled each visit with all the love and energy she could manage. The three tattoos that Chloe had were for each set of her grandparents – a “poo-bird” for Sharon and Kris, a “bed-frog” for Dale and Marilyn, and the Michigan house bell for Jim and Dorothy. She loved always having these reminders with her. Her grandparents watched her grow from a silly, spunky little girl into an intelligent, independent, and caring young woman and will miss her more than words can say.

In 2010, Chloe became a big sister to Olivia (14). She was such an attentive and loving big sister. As a new sister, Chloe was fascinated and so proud of all of Olivia’s important milestones and they were often a topic of conversation. Even though farther apart in age, the girls found ways to connect over the years. As kids, they would dance, play dress-up, color, or just snuggle while Chloe read a book aloud. In recent years, they connected over games like Dutch Blitz, favorite TV shows or music and attended concerts together. Chloe was a source of inspiration and confidence for Olivia as she started high school this year. They bonded over their sameness and celebrated their uniqueness.

Chloe is survived by five cousins who entered her life between 2009 and 2019. She held each new cousin as a baby, played with them, and taught them. With her cousins, Chloe made many memories swimming, making smores, finding Christmas pickles, playing on the beach, playing games, watching movies, building forts and many Lego sets. To Addison (16) and Lorraine (13), she was a best friend, an advocate, a cheerleader, and a sounding board. She made time for them no matter what. As they grew, they stayed connected on their own and shared many inside jokes. To Owen (9), Hudson (8) and Polly (5) she brought joy, love, warmth and laughter every time she visited. Whether it was her cousins or other kids in her life, Chloe had a way of making young people feel like they were the coolest ever.

Chloe is survived by her Aunt Amanda (Uncle Andy) and Aunt Alison. From the moment she entered the world, Chloe stole their hearts. Andy (before he was her uncle) was one of the first to hold Chloe after she was born. Chloe was a beautiful flower girl in Amanda and Andy’s wedding. Aunt Ali’s birthday is one day after Chloe’s. When Jill was in the hospital, she asked the doctors if they could hold off one more hour before surgery so that Chloe could share a birthday with her aunt. The answer was, of course, a resounding no. To them she was an inspiring young woman, strong both mentally and physically. Her love for life, friends and family was apparent every time you saw her amazing smile and every time you were lucky enough to be on the receiving end of one of her hugs. Chloe made you truly treasure every moment with her, it was impossible not to. They saw her as a confident, fearless, beautiful soul wiser than most her age. She inspired them to try new things and cherish relationships. Chloe made them proud and reminded them of the power of family.

At the start of her senior year (2021), Chloe got a surprise when her long-time friend Taleah came to live with us (story for another time involving California and synchronized ice skating). Taleah was elevated to a new sister to the girls and daughter to us. As Taleah was 6 days older than Chloe, they joked that Chloe became the middle child. Chloe, Taleah and Olivia even did a surprise “awkward sibling” photo shoot in Dec 2023 as a family gift. This sister relationship continued into the girls’ college years and Taleah will continue to be a big sister to Olivia and a daughter to Jill and Bryant.

In the summer of 2021, Chloe met Julia. By the next summer, they were officially dating, and Chloe could not have been happier. Our girl, who already smiled a lot, just smiled more. Seeing her learn how to be in a relationship and fall in love was incredibly heart-warming. They went to Pierogi Fest and a Billy Joel/Stevie Nicks concert with Julia’s family, visited Chloe’s family in St. Louis and Michigan and shared holidays. Chloe was so happy when she got to visit Julia at VMI following their first year of university. The girls worked through the long distance while they were each at school and they looked forward to their future together after graduation. Chloe helped Julia bring down her walls, be more open to sharing her feelings and become more empathetic. Chloe and Julia’s love for each other is an inspiration to many in their lives.

Even though Chloe thought of herself as shy (and loved just curling up with a good book), she made deep connections with many friends in her lifetime. One of her first friends, Jess, has been her friend since they were 2. Those two really were more like sisters as they grew up together. Our families are still close and have years of happy memories together that will be cherished. We’ve heard many stories about Chloe’s impact over the past two weeks. It’s just astounding, but not surprising, how much she meant to everyone in her life. Chloe had a spark and energy that is difficult to put into words. Her smile drew you in and her flawlessly timed humor made you laugh.

For her first 12 years of life her family lived in Mundelein, IL. Chloe attended elementary school at St. John Lutheran School in Libertyville from K – 6th grade. Her love of science began here when she won a science fair by experimenting with the Chemistry of Cookies. In 2016, Chloe moved with her family to Deerfield and transitioned to Caruso Middle School. Chloe was a 2022 graduate from Deerfield High School as an Illinois State Scholar. She was in her third year at the University of St. Andrews (Scotland) where she studied Chemistry and played water polo. Chloe maintained contact with her parents and sister almost daily. She would share pictures from the St. Andrew’s beaches, her sea glass finds, beautiful sunsets, neighborhood Scottish cats, time with friends, her chemistry labs, St. Andrew’s traditions and her travels. She often just reached out to say hello and I love you.

Chloe began competitive swimming in 2015 and quickly realized that she was much more coordinated in the water than on land. Upon moving to Deerfield, she even competed with her dad in the TinMan Triathalon. She continued to swim in High School but also found water polo as a freshman. Her face lit up when she played, and she soon joined the Eastside Water Polo club travel team. Chloe really found her competitive spirit through water polo. Covid stopped her sophomore season after a single game, but the lockdown time did not stop Chloe. She participated in online workouts with her team, did her best with online school and spent a lot of time reflecting. It was during this time that she determined who she was and who she wanted to be. Emerging from the pandemic, Chloe lived her life even more authentically than she had before. Post Covid, she continued to compete at travel tournaments and the USA Water Polo Junior Olympics. In her high school water polo career, she received two All Conference awards, a 2nd team All Sectional award and Academic All-American honors. She was a mentor at DHS for both the girls and boys water polo players and many attribute her to teaching them key skills in the water. Chloe was thrilled that she could continue pursuing her sport at the University level and was even given the distinguished award of Club Mermaid. Chloe also contributed out of the pool for her St. Andrew’s team by being a team arranging for travel referees and managing the team social media. She cherished deeply the relationships she formed with her teammates.

Music was a very important part of Chloe’s life and helped her to connect with family, friends and her own emotions. She loved songs from all genres, old and new, and had a knack for learning lyrics. She curated playlists for every occasion and mood and shared those between friends. Chloe earned a swim nickname of Karaoke Chloe because she sang almost every song playing at practice. She would always sing her favorite songs at the top of her lungs. Many special memories for her were formed around a song or at a concert.

Chloe loved to travel and attending University in the UK allowed her to see many places (on a relatively small budget) in the last few years. Her travel bug started in her senior year of High School. Taleah asked Chloe to be part of Venture Crew 774’s expedition to Antarctica in Dec 2021. The trip included time in Buenos Aires and Ushuaia, Argentina before boarding the ship to Antarctica. The crew spent one night sleeping on the continent dug into the ice, did kayaking, a polar plunge and saw a lot of penguins. This was the very first scout trip to the continent and there is an exhibit in the National Boy Scout Museum at Philmont Scout Reservation. At University, Chloe traveled with friends and with her water polo team to London (England), Cardiff (Wales), Lisbon and Sintra (Portugal), Edinburgh and Sterling (Scotland), Brussels and Ghent (Belgium), Amsterdam (Netherlands) and Copenhagen (Denmark). One of her most favorite places was the cat museum in Amsterdam where real cats walked among the art and gardens. During her travels, Chloe would text to tell us stories and share pictures of everything she was experiencing. The world fascinated her, and she had a list of all the places she still wanted to see and possibly live. Chloe’s last trip was just after New Years 2025. Bryant, Jill, Olivia, Taleah, Julia and Chloe took a trip together to Grand Cayman. It was wonderful to escape the winter, bask in the sun, walk on the beach, swim with sea turtles and just be together. This will be forever cherished as a wonderful family memory.

The funeral service for Chloe will be held on February 22, at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church in Deerfield. The church service will be from 10:30 – 11:30 am. All are welcome to attend regardless of religious beliefs.

The service will be streamed on Zoom for those that cannot travel but want to participate.

Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/842861148?pwd=TGNvQWdyVUFsRE1JNUQ3WkFJVU1BZz09

Meeting ID: 842 861 148

Passcode: 414299

Following the service (also at St. Gregory’s), there will be a celebration of life in true Chloe fashion. Please join us from 12:00 – 5:00 pm (open house style) to learn and reminisce about Chloe’s amazing life, meet family and friends you may not know, eat her favorite foods, play her favorite games, listen to her music, and pay special tribute to her gift of organ donation. Chloe would request that you dress in a way that matches your authentic self.

To truly honor Chloe, the family asks for support of one of these meaningful charities instead of flowers.

Gift of Hope – This is the organization that managed Chloe’s wish to be an organ donor. The nurses and staff from Gift of Hope took wonderful care of Chloe and of her family. They continue to support us now. You can honor Chloe’s legacy by registering as an organ donor or making a donation. And her heart beats on… and her eyes continue to see… she is still with us, but differently.

It Gets Better – This is a nonprofit organization with a mission to uplift, empower, and connect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth around the globe. Chloe was blessed to have a fully supportive network of family and friends. She wasn’t bullied and didn’t feel like she had to hide. Not all LGBTQ+ youth are as fortunate and do need help. It Gets Better reaches and connects with LGBTQ+ youth before they are in crisis.

Feed My Starving Children – Chloe loved to volunteer with several organizations over the years. However, her favorite place to volunteer was Feed My Starving Children in Libertyville. She had many meaningful experiences with friends, teammates, and family at the FMSC packing sessions.

Chloe’s presence will be felt by those that were lucky enough to know her for the rest of their lives. She will be missed deeply until we see her again. Rest easy baby girl.