Help Brooke's Family Rebuild Her Legacy

My wife of 40 years and mother of our four sons just lost her six year fight against cancer. We shared a good life together with our four sons and her brother. She was a talented designer of cross stitch patterns that we sold on Etsy. That helped us pay the mortgage on our house and keep the lights on. Then, one day. cancer came into our lives. At first, the cancer fight didn't reduce Brooke’s ability to create new designs and manage the business but as the cancer took other forms and the therapies took their toll, she was no longer able to do the detail work that made her publications so successful. Now, she and her income are gone and all we have is a mountain of debt.

My youngest son, Jack, is a budding artist who worked under his mother’s guidance and learned the process of designing. With time, he is developing his skills so that he can continue in his mother’s footsteps. He is willing to re-launch his mother’s business but the day to day costs are accumulating quickly. He may have to give up the dream of re-launching his mother’s business if we are evicted from the house that we have lived in for the last 24 years.

Brooke’s 6 year fight against cancer took a toll on all of us but it also took a toll on the house that we survivors continue to live in. We are left with no heat or air conditioning, there are holes in the ceiling where the leaking roof let rain into the house, insects have nothing to keep them out and there are holes in the floor where a leaking water heater and plumbing leaks ate through the sub-floring. The list of problems is too long to list here but what we ask in these difficult times is to raise enough money to:

> Survive in this difficult time of rebuilding

> Re-launch the business

> Repair the air conditioner and heater

Money will not fill the void of sadness that losing Brooke to cancer left for us. What we can hope for is to remember her generosity, love, kindness and sense of beauty that emanated from every aspect of our lives that she touched. I will apply the funds as though they were the water, soil and seeds of her creativity, growing the future that she envisioned for her children and all the cross stitchers throughout the world. Those who gained enjoyment from realizing their own creativity then pass it along to future generations of stitchers will have experienced the joy that Brooke created for them.

I am not one who usually asks for handouts but there is an exception to everything.

Here is the link to Brooke's obituary: https://www.pfhcleveland.com/obituaries/brooke-nolan

We thank everyone in advance for their greatly needed generosity.