My mom, Malinda Costa, passed away yesterday unexpectedly. She is a mother of two ( Ashley Lavoie and Samantha Costa), she has been married to our dad Derek Costa since 2001, and she is also a grandmother of my two young daughters.

Since her passing my dad has been trying to figure out how we will be able to afford to funeral services for her since she does not have life insurance and at this time we do not have nearly enough funds to cover the expenses for the funeral, let alone covering other expenses in the immediate future.

My mom had been very ill throughout the Summer and Fall, she was constantly in the hospital for surguries, or to help her get the treatment needed to get her strong and healthy again. She was doing so great recently, she finally had energy to do more stuff on her own and to play with her grandkids, we were all so happy to have mom coming back to being herself. And we just celebrated her 44th birthday in December, and thankfully we were able to spend christmas together as a family without her in alot of pain. A few days ago my sister, dad, and mom all caught a really bad cold, my sister and dad were fortunate enough to have strong enough immune systems to recover from it. My mom however was not so fortunate and she passed away yesterday January 5, 2017.

We are the type of family that rarely asks for help from others unless we really need the help, and this time we need it more than anything. My mom had always been someone you could rely on to help you out if needed ❤

My main goal is to raise enough money to cover funeral expenses but I would be beyond grateful if we could raise more so that my dad doesn't have to rush to return to work at least until we get a better grasp of this transition period and so he can be there more for my sister who turned 17 years old the day before my mom passed away.

some other people may know my mom by Malinda Brown, her maiden name.

she is the daughter of Nancy Brown-Sylvia and Gerald Sylvia.

She grew up in Somerville, and moved to Mashpee in the mid 1990's, later moved to falmouth, then to hyannis, and finally ended back in falmouth again.

She was in the Army before she got pregnant with me, and was in the army reserves for a few years after I was born, and was honorably discharged.

Every dollar we raise will help us so significantly, so no matter how small the donation please know we appreciate it!!

thank you, Ashley