Leilani Tice was born on Oct. 1, 2013, and died two hours later.

Her story does not end there. Her family, determined to make her short life mean something, founded Leilani’s Legacy — a program that initiated acts of kindness in Maine and has since spread to six foreign countries.

In 2012, Josh and Katina Tice had everything going for them. They were young, healthy and happy, living together in Minot and parents to Katina’s daughter and Josh’s step-daughter, Nevaeh.

They owned three businesses in South Paris — Harris Brothers Rubbish Removal, L/A Luxury Limousine and The Perfect Touch Auto Detail Shop. The businesses were doing well, and the couple thought it might be time to grow their little family.

For a year they tried to conceive and, on Feb. 13, 2013, Katina learned she was finally pregnant. Her Valentine’s Day present to her husband was sharing the happy news with him.

The couple, feeling anxious about how long it had taken them to conceive, were cautious about embracing the pregnancy. Over the first trimester, their joy and anticipation gradually increased, like the slow incline to the top of a roller coaster ride, Josh said. At the 13-week appointment, Josh and Katina saw their baby girl for the first time through ultrasound.

The doctor excused herself from the room and, for the next 12 minutes, the couple remembers basking in the bliss of impending parenthood.

They had reached the highest peak of their roller coaster and were suspended in that moment at the top. Then, that joy plummeted when the doctor returned to the examining room and delivered the news that the pregnancy was not viable.

The baby had a rare birth defect called anencephaly and a zero percent chance of surviving.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, anencephaly is a defect of the neural tube that occurs in early pregnancy. A baby carried to term with this condition is born missing parts of the brain and skull and rarely survives more than a few hours after birth.

The couple met with counselors to talk about scheduling a procedure to terminate the pregnancy.

“We went home thinking that was our only option,” said Josh Tice, remembering their terror and despair.

At home that night, the couple saw another option. In their faith, they believed that if God had already made his choice, Katina would have miscarried. So, they decided to leave their daughter in His hands and continue with the pregnancy. It was, they believed, their only choice. And, knowing that their time with their daughter was limited, they determined to love her and cherish every moment they had with her, even before she was born.

“I was carrying my baby, my gift, and I was experiencing one of the most beautiful things we, as women, get to experience. I was carrying and sharing my body with another heartbeat, another beautiful life created by God. I embraced every kick, wiggle, hiccup and roll that she gifted me with,” Katina Tice said.

The experience left Josh searching for meaning. He had chased success, building his businesses. Now, he found himself focused on his daughter’s life, and his priorities began to change.

“A lot of people thought we were nuts,” he said. “Why would we put ourselves through this emotionally? And it was the only option we had because she was ours. When I first started the businesses three years ago, I was on a completely different page than where I am now. Now it’s about how much can we help people, how much can we give to people.”

The couple named their baby girl Leilani, which means “child of God” in Hawaiian.

“We knew what the outcome was going to be, so we wanted (her name) to be something powerful,” Josh said.

Leilani was born a month early and weighed 4.3 pounds.

“I felt thankful that I was able to meet and hold her,” Katina said. “I bathed her, sang to her and gave her endless kisses during her two hours of precious life. That was the greatest positive through all of this. Leilani has forever changed me and I’m so grateful for that.”

Throughout this experience, the couple found strength through their church, friends and family. Along the way, they decided that the best way they could honor their daughter was by helping others.

“We want to give,” said Josh Tice, and it really is that simple in his eyes. “I think it defines our choice, only because of the fact that she is bringing more to this world than what was expected, and it keeps the meaning of her alive.”

The couple established a pay-it-forward initiative promoting simple acts of kindness called “Leilani’s Legacy.”

Last year, the act of kindness was a family-organized food drive in Minot to feed local families and to help stock local food pantries. But it’s much bigger than that.

As part of Leilani’s Legacy, the Tices hand out small cards imploring the beneficiary of an act of kindness to pay that forward with their own kind act. Based on stories shared with the family through Leilani’s Legacy Facebook page and by word of mouth, the couple has counted roughly 8,000 acts of kindness from six countries stemming from their efforts.

This year, when trying to decide what their major act of kindness would be, Marie Stevens of Norway — a family friend who attended last year’s Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce Christmas parade — noticed many young children watching the parade in the cold without hats or mittens. Stevens suggested that they hand out hats and mittens at the 2015 parade.

Josh’s mother, Kathy Tice, ran a day care in the Oxford Hills community for decades and embraced the pay-it-forward acts in memory of her granddaughter. She took control of the hats and mittens idea, holding meetings, planning for the parade float and recruiting knitters.

She knitted about 200 items, and — with the help of about 20 family members and close friends — ended up with about 1,000 hand-knitted hats and mittens.

Each item had a pay-it-forward tag with a special note inviting people to share on the Leilani’s Legacy Facebook page, along with a special message that said, “May she wrap her wings around you to keep you warm this holiday season.”

About 25 family members and friends gathered on the day of the parade, some of whom had flown up from Virginia to participate in the act of love. They handed out about 700 hats and mittens during the parade to children they passed, and have already set a goal to do it again next year.

“It could be a hat. It could be a cup of coffee. It could be a meal, or maybe paying for someone’s fuel for their home,” Josh Tice said. “People all over the world are going to feel this love in honor of my daughter.” 

He added, “It literally helps bring people back to what’s real in life and what this world should be like. Of course, it brings the spiritual part of it, too. That’s how Jesus lived his life. He gave to the poor, and he didn’t even think twice. Do it not to get a pat on the back, but just because it’s in your heart. I think that every time someone does that a little bit of Leilani is in that person’s heart.”

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“I embraced every kick, wiggle, hiccup and roll that she gifted me with,” said Katina Tice.