First Parish to Celebrate the Life of Kris Burke Sunday

Earlier this month, Framingham resident Kris Burke died from breast cancer.

Last night I went to our elementary school PTO meeting, and I saw the parents of a new kindergartener, who was in my daughter’s preschool class the year before last.  I didn’t know them well, but I knew back then that the mom, Kris Burke, was fighting breast cancer.  She seemed to be doing well and I didn’t know enough of her story for my “helper radar” to kick in and identify an opportunity to get involved.

But at last night’s PTO meeting, my friend mentioned that there was a recent news article about this new kindergarten family, and that they were in fear of imminent foreclosure on their home.  Kris had lost her job as a teacher at Brophy Elementary, and with it – her health insurance.  Beep-beep-beep.  My radar was on high-alert.

Greene set out to rally the community to help Burke. Her efforts encouraged the Barbieri Elementary, Brophy Elementary and many in Framingham to help the Burke family.

Since her first blog post, thousands of dollars was raised to help the Burke family. Neighbors, friends and even those who did know the family made meals, offered rides, helped out at the Burke home, fixed the family's roof, and so many other tasks.

Last month, Framingham Patch blogger Brenda Crawshaw wrote about how Burke's battle could be our battle. She wrote:

She's a mom.  She's a teacher.  She's a wife.  She loves her family.  She wants her home to be a place of comfort and refuge for her family.  She tries to follow an eating plan for optimal health benefits.  She has a great smile that comes through in every photo.  She often wears stylish scarves on her head.  She cares about Framingham.  She adores her daughter and wants to spend every moment soaking up her sweetness.  She wants to make improvements to her home.  She has a devoted husband who, like many, works for a company with a shockingly high deductible.  She was laid off from her job last year and the family had to tighten their belts.  She has cancer.  She has had cancer for 12 years.  She fights every day for her family in ways that most of us never had to fight.  Her name is Kris Burke and any one of us could be her.