Support for Michele & her family in her final moments.

UPDATE:

It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing the passing of my beloved younger sister on Wednesday, June 6th. She passed peacefully at home with her family, holding her husband’s hand and watching the Celtics. The evening I had posted on Facebook about the rainbow showing up at nearly 9pm was definitely a sign as she passed shortly afterwards.

She had fought breast cancer that was initially deemed successfully treated after lumpectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation in 2021. Unfortunately, she found it had returned, metastasized to her lungs, liver, bones, spine, and brain in November of 2022. She fought courageously for the past 18 months never wanting to lose hope and bravely forging ahead to squeeze out all the time she possibly could have with her family, especially her two beautiful sons and husband.

I will remain forever grateful to the oncologis, Dr Andrew “AJ” Piper-Vallillo (who is actually a native of Pittsfield) who delivered the news that she would not make it. He was not the oncologist that had been treating her at Leahey and I believe it was divine providence and that our parents sent him to deliver the news with such compassion and tenderness…I mean, what are the odds he was from the Berkshires and the very next town over from where she grew up in Lenox? He let her process everything on her own time and spent so long with her, holding her hand (and ours). It wasn’t until the next day that her regular oncologist hit her with the news that she had 2 weeks left to live…She lasted only eight short days!

We had so many profound conversations over the last week of her short life. As I previously posted, “she wasn’t mad at God, she had gratitude for the life he gave her”. She wanted her boys to know that love and family are the most important things in life and to make sure they “picked a loving spouse who would be a true partner” like she had. Her proudest achievement as a mother was not the many accomplishments of her amazing, smart, talented boys, it was that they are “good people”!

If you’re still reading this, hug your loved ones, appreciate the life you have, wear your bathing suit at the beach no matter what size your body is, laugh often, live fully, do what you can for others because Michele did! She inspired me in life and will continue to inspire me with the grace in which she left her body. I know her spirit lives on in us and around us.

And, if you see her family, Mary Harkins or who was MORE than a sister-in-law, or her parents, Josephine & Frank Guercio who treated her like a daughter or her besties: Gina Spadafora-Crawford and Katy Dos Santos, please hug them for me and let them know how much they meant to her and mean to her family! To our family: Mary Howard, Lynnie Howard, Shaun Mackie, Liz Haddad Sheehan, Anna Haddad, Marshall Haddad, Michael Haddad, and Joseph E. Healy, your constant support of her meant the world to her and us. Staying connected to friends and family on this FB platform really helped her stay connected and not feel alone; the online community provided much strength and comfort to her!

Lastly, to all of you who have donated to the GFM for the boys, who shared the post, you are forever appreciated! There are not enough words but I do promise to thank you all❤️If you’re able, please continue to share the link and the love.

**If anyone happed to know the local family of Dr Piper-Vallillo, please thank and hug them for me; they raised a true angel.

https://gofund.me/b27cd7e5