Community Corner
After Worcester Christmas Carol Mom's Death, Family Seeks Help
Morgan Freeman died exactly one week after locals sang carols outside her home. A fundraiser now seeks to pay burial and medical costs.
WORCESTER, MA — A Worcester woman whose last wish was to hear Christmas carols one last time died on Dec. 22, and now her family is trying to get help paying for her funeral and medical bills.
Stricken with cancer, Morgan Freeman moved from Maine to her daughter's home in Worcester recently to live out her last days in hospice care. Two weeks before Christmas, Echo Louissaint put out a call on social media asking anyone to come sing carols to her mother. About 40 people showed up on Dec. 15 to fulfill the wish.
Louissaint said she and her mother had been estranged up until recently, with Freeman living alone in Maine for the past 20 years. But she said she didn't want her mother to die alone in a hospital in another state, and made the difficult decision to move Freeman into her apartment with her two young boys.
Although it was difficult confronting their strained relationship, and providing round-the-clock care, Louissaint said her mother's life ended on a positive note — and that was partly due to the strangers who showed up to help and sing some carols.
"You gave me and my family and my mom priceless memories we could have never experienced that she spent a lifetime avoiding," Louissaint said. "She opened her heart to you all, and you broke down those walls, and you did not disappoint!"
Read: Dying Mom's Wish Is To Hear Carolers One Last Time
The fundraiser seeks $10,000 to pay for Freeman's burial and medical expenses, but also to seed a foundation in her name called Morgan's Wishes. The fundraiser had reached $2,000 by Wednesday.
"Morgan's Wishes will help assist families going through the emotional and financial difficulties of in-home, end-of-life care with little help or assistance," Louissaint wrote on a GoFundMe page.
The foundation, which Louissaint plans to run with her sister, Briana, has already made its first donation: the sisters donated Freeman's hospital bed, sheets and pajamas this week to another local family whose matriarch is in hospice care.
"One thing for sure is that my mom's end of her life was the best days of her life, but we could have never done it alone. We intend to help make families facing similar trials and circumstances help their loved ones' final days be memorable!" she said.
