Carrie Jo Conti was the first to wake up and the last to retire on Girl Scout outings.
To say she was full of energy didn't do justice to her spark and spontaneity. She didn't want to miss anything, whether it be activities with Junior Troop 3004 of Johns Creek or playing soccer with the Warriors out of Johns Creek United Methodist Church.
"She definitely put the spice in life," said Michelle Woods, her troop leader. "She got along with everyone in the troop and always had lots of ideas. She had a lot of spark and energy. I think she attended everything we did this fall."
She took part in Girl Scout activities unless they interfered with soccer, a game she'd played since she was 3. She started out at the Forsyth County YMCA and stuck with the sport after her mother, Veronica "Roni" McCain, had her choose between soccer or ballet.
"She had to pick something because she couldn't do everything," said her mother from Johns Creek. "She was a creative, artistic child."
On Dec. 22, Carrie Jo's father picked her up early from school because she complained of a fever and bad headache. She woke up the next day with a headache and fever, which was kept under control with medicine. That night, she, her mother and sisters saw "The Nutcracker" at the Fox Theatre, a first for her in that venue.
Early Christmas Eve, Carrie Jo had a seizure and was rushed to Emory Johns Creek Hospital, then later transferred to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. On Dec. 28, the 9-year-old was pronounced dead from complications of encephalitis.
A memorial will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at St. Benedict Catholic Church in Johns Creek. Byars Funeral Home of Cumming is in charge of arrangements.
Carrie Jo was a fourth-grader at Shakerag Elementary, where she and friends liked to write stories and create skits, cheers and dances. She was an avid Georgia Tech fan (both of her parents attended the school), and that school's fight song, along with a song from "The Nutcracker," will be played during her memorial.
Carrie Jo was the goalie for the Warriors and, like most people who play that position, had "a little crazy in her," joked Joe Forzese, her coach for the past three years. He will speak Saturday.
"She was a very aggressive player," he said. "I always said she'd be the first girl on the team who would get a yellow card, but she was like that in everything she did. She was go, go, go. Soccer is eight months out of the year, so it was definitely something she enjoyed doing."
Additional survivors include her father, Robert Conti of Suwanee; a stepfather, Ted McCain of Johns Creek; two sisters, Sarah Shuler and Kathryn Conti of Johns Creek; and four brothers, William Shuler of Alpharetta, and Austin McCain, Bryce McCain and Trenton McCain, all of Johns Creek.
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