Cinnamon Gilch, a beloved friend and colleague of the Allegheny  Health Network (AHN) Office of Development, died tragically in a fatal car accident on Friday, August 4, 2023, at the age of 53.

Cinnamon began her tenure at AHN in the Cancer Institute, where she worked for more than five years before joining the Office of Development in 2022.

She was generous, caring, and committed to both her family and community, had a passion for cooking, and was a faithful servant of the Lord.

Cinnamon was a proud member of Toastmasters International and a founding Board member with the Team Fishguy Transplant Foundation, and recently began taking classes through Christian Leadership Institute for a degree in Divinity.

Cinnamon had an undeniable effect on those who had the privilege of knowing her. Her warmth, compassion, positivity, and impact will never be forgotten.

She is survived by her husband Jason M. Gilch; children Rachel “Beau” Shaffer, Lindsay Shaffer, and Cassidy Shaffer; granddaughter Estella Arnold; father Charles Koval; siblings, nieces, nephews, extended family members, and Rex, her wild dinosaur dachshund puppy.

She was preceded in death by her mother, Joyce (Dengler) Koval, and her beloved daughter, Dayanna Shaffer.

The family of Robert J. Granata, a cancer survivor and Michigan entrepreneur, has pledged to donate $1 million to support research at AHN Cancer Institute’s (AHNCI) Peritoneal Surgery Program. The Granata family’s planned gift is a gesture of his gratitude for the innovative, life-saving work of AHNCI clinicians, specifically David Bartlett, MD, chair of AHNCI and an internationally recognized cancer specialist in peritoneal surgery.