Shirley Cole’s Funeral Costs

Dear family and friends,

I am writing to you today to let you know about the untimely passing of my mother Shirley Cole. Shirley Cole, the mother of 8 children, had her first child at the tender age of 15—just a mere child herself. Although she struggled financially for most of her life, my mother made sure that her children were never without the necessities and she loved each one of us very dearly. Prior to the challenges of 2020, my mother had been dealing with complications associated with kidney disease (weekly dialysis and daily medication). Given our mother’s private nature, only those closest to her were aware of her medical condition and to what extent this impacted both her emotional and physical wellbeing. Our mother dealt with most of these challenges for nearly a decade and did so with amazing strength and courage. Never once did we hear her complain about her circumstance or ask god, “Why me?” She remained committed to living the best life she could, and—for her—that meant spending her time with those she valued the most. Without question, this was her children (especially, her daughters).

Unexpectedly, her health took a turn for the worse when she was diagnosed with cancer in early July of 2020. The advanced stage of her cancer and its late detection took our mother’s life on August 27th. To further complicate matters, COVID-19 restrictions at her hospital permitted only two of her children to view her deceased body—none of her other 6 children or friends and family were allowed to see her. As you may be aware, most medical and treatment facilities are not allowing for any patient visitation due to COVID-19 restrictions. This means that the people that mattered the most to her were not able to physically interact or visit with her for the entire time she battled against this deadly disease, and—for the most part—this remained true even in death.

Many people have reached out to us giving their condolences and asking if they could contribute financially to my mother's funeral. After much deliberation and angst, we have decided to create this GoFundMe campaign to aid us in giving our mother the proper funeral she deserves. One of the issues we personally struggled with when considering whether to do this GoFundMe, centered around what amount we would set as the targeted goal. Since the service requires that we put a specific amount as the goal, my natural inclination was to ask for the minimum amount needed to cover her funeral service, and her children would find a way to cover everything else (cemetery costs and any other incidentals related to guiding our mother to her final resting place). This amounted to roughly $5,000. The majority of these costs must be paid by September 16th, 2020. If you would like to help us fulfill the end of life wishes of our mother and you are financially able to do so, please consider donating. Any amount you can provide will most certainly help. We sincerely thank you all for your support during this difficult time.

Respectfully,
Delbert Cole (eldest son of Shirley “Blue” Cole)