Frontier Airlines mechanic finds touching photo of little girl who battled cancer who dreamed of flying

TAMPA, Fla. - It is airplane mechanic Shaun Brown’s job to inspect things closely. So when he was replacing a bathroom mirror on a Frontier Airlines plane back in February, he quickly noticed something tucked behind the mirror.  

"I removed it, and I found what looked like a postcard," the Airborne Maintenance and Engineering Services Tampa mechanic said. "It was actually a picture with some writings on the back."

The picture was of a little girl sitting in a small airplane. The note on the back was written by Grandma and Grandad. 

"I was kind of like blown away," Brown said after he read the note. "I was sad at the same time."

The note reads: "Our dear grandchild, Grace, 4 ¼ years old. Taken from us in 3 weeks with a very rare liver cancer. (November 2014) Our little angel had always wanted to fly – so she flies with Monarch – hidden away for as long as possible. Happy travels darling Grace, you made our lives just perfect for all too short a time. God bless. XXX Grandma + Grandad."

"They wanted their granddaughter to fly," said Brown, who is a father himself. "That really stuck out."

This particular plane used to belong to Monarch Airlines in the UK. Now, it’s part of the Frontier Fleet. Brown showed the picture to his lead mechanic, Cullen Johns.

"I took a couple of photos of it, so we had everything we would need before we put it back behind the mirror," Johns said. "We didn't want to disrupt what was placed there for a reason by her grandparents." 

But, the search for little Grace’s story began. Johns said he mentioned the discovery to Frontier Airlines flight attendant and instructor Amy "AC" Proctor. 

Proctor shared the story on her Facebook page and tagged Frontier Denver-based flight attendant Lisa Gallegos, who used to work for Monarch Airlines. Then Gallegos reached out to her former Monarch colleagues on Facebook. 

Eventually, that led to the discovery of the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust, an organization raising awareness of childhood cancer in Grace’s name. 

Jen Kelly, Grace’s mom, said in a statement: 

"We lost Grace when she was just four years old. She never had chance to fly in a plane. It feels so special to know that Grace’s photo has been flying for so many years and continues to do so thanks so Frontier airlines. We are so grateful to know that they have tracked us down to let us know. Thank you so much to everyone that helped make this possible." 

According to the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust’s website, the little girl got sick in October 2014 and was diagnosed with a renal rhabdoid tumor. She died just three weeks later in November 2014. 

"Grace’s wish was to help other children and her wish resulted in us founding the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust. We fund research into childhood cancers, provide support to families, write medical publications and teach the signs and symptoms of childhood cancer because early diagnosis saves lives. It is the signs and symptoms card I have attached that we are trying to raise awareness of and really encourage people to visit our website etc. www.gkcct.org," Jen Kelly said in a statement. 

Want to track Grace’s photo? Look for the Frontier airplane with the red cardinal on the tail.

"She's still flying," Brown said. "And hopefully she continues to fly."