Scholarship Will Honor Framingham's Karen Dempsey

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The family of former Framingham School Committee member Karen Foran Dempsey is setting up a scholarship at Framingham High School for students with physical disabilities, a group Dempsey spent her life fighting for.

Dempsey, 54, died suddenly on Christmas Eve. On top of her duties as the District 2 School Committee member, Dempsey was a longtime advocate for the disabled — a duty she came to, in part, after her own experiences in the Framingham school system.

Dempsey was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis as a 2-year-old and used a motorized scooter to get around. She once fell down the stairs while a student at Cameron Middle School because the principal wouldn't let her use the elevator, according to her sister At-Large Councilor Janet Leombruno.

"She was just a girl who wanted to go places; she wanted to get into buildings, she wanted to walk ... she wanted to be normal," Leombruno said at Tuesday's City Council meeting, where the Council read a proclamation in Dempsey's honor and voted to name a landmark in Framingham after her.

Dempsey went on to start Framingham's disability commission, among countless other works for the disabled.

The scholarship will go to a student planning to attend college, a trade school or another type of post-secondary education.

"Karen’s life mission was breaking down barriers for equal access for people with disabilities and was a tireless advocate for the rights of the disabled," the scholarship statement reads. "The family encourages students who dream of breaking down their own barriers by moving forward with higher education advancement to apply, so they can seek to carry on her legacy, and put their imprint on Framingham like Karen did."