Menominee Mourns Rain Rosalie Laes as Family Shares Her Story and Lasting Memories Now

 Some losses arrive with a weight that words can barely carry. In Menominee, Michigan, Rain Rosalie Laes, 16, died Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at St. Vincent’s Children’s Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with her parents, Mandy and Ira Laes, beside her. Her death has left a young family, classmates, friends, and others facing an absence that will not be easy to explain in the days ahead.

Rain’s final hours were surrounded by the people closest to her. Her parents remained at her side as she took her final breath, providing the comfort and presence of family during an unbearably painful moment. News of her passing has since moved through the community, where those who knew Rain are now remembering a teenager whose life touched others during her sixteen years. Her family now faces the difficult work of grieving while adjusting to a changed future, together.

Behind the grief is a story her family hopes will encourage an important conversation. They shared that Rain experienced struggles that were not always visible to people around her, a reminder that someone’s outward appearance may not reveal what they are carrying privately. In honoring her memory, the family wants greater awareness of mental health and hopes people will feel more willing to talk about difficult experiences and seek support when they need it. That message matters deeply now.

Rain’s connection to the area began in Wisconsin, where she was born in Green Bay. She spent her early childhood in Little Suamico before eventually moving to Menominee, a city that became her home during the last three years of her life. That transition brought her into another chapter of her childhood and adolescence, creating memories and relationships that now hold particular meaning for those grieving her. Menominee became a place where Rain formed friendships and made lasting memories.

At Menominee High School, Rain became part of a school community that knew her as a student and classmate. For teenagers and educators who shared those everyday surroundings with her, the news represents more than a name in an announcement; it marks the sudden absence of someone who had been part of ordinary school life. The hallways, conversations, and familiar routines connected to her are now accompanied by memories of the young person she was. Rain’s absence feels sudden.

Her identity also included a meaningful connection to the Ho-Chunk Nation. That heritage formed an important part of Rain’s story and remains among the qualities her family and loved ones will remember as they move through their grief. Alongside her family relationships and school connections, it is part of the broader picture of a sixteen-year-old whose life cannot be reduced to the circumstances surrounding her death. Her heritage remains part of the story loved ones carry forward.

For those closest to Rain, remembrance will take many forms. The people who loved her will carry forward the moments they shared, the memories created across childhood and adolescence, and the impression she left on their lives. While grief can make the future feel painfully uncertain, remembering Rain as a daughter, student, friend, and member of the Ho-Chunk Nation offers a way to keep her life present in the stories others tell. Her absence will be felt.

Rain Rosalie Laes’s death has brought deep sorrow to Menominee. As family, friends, classmates, and others mourn, her loved ones hope her memory can also encourage compassion, openness, and attention to struggles that may remain unseen. Her sixteen years were brief, but the love surrounding her final moments and the memories she leaves behind will continue to matter to those who knew her most.