Brenda Andry-Shaw's life mattered.

Our sister Brenda Andry-Shaw passed away 2/9/22 in Temple, TX after a long battle with many medical issues and alcohol abuse. After struggling financially during Covid, she was planning on moving back to Colorado to live with our brother so she could get back on her feet, and she hoped to reconnect with her 2 adult children, from whom she had been estranged for many years. She was applying for disability, and had almost been approved when her health took a turn and she went to the hospital for the last time. At some point, she refused medical treatment, so Crysta, Danika (Brenda's granddaughter), and I flew to Texas to say goodbye. Crysta & Danika got to see her for a few minutes and let her know they were there. The next morning, we were informed that she had passed away overnight.

Brenda and her friends had already started packing up her apartment and selling things for her move to Colorado, but there was so much left to go through and pack.

Crysta and I stayed in Texas for 6 days packing up Brenda's life. Crysta had to go home to Colorado and come back to Texas with a rented trailer to take everything home. She now has the daunting task of going through boxes, paying for a storage space, dealing with her mom's finances/debts and planning a memorial.

As you can imagine, this has been a huge financial strain on the family, not to mention emotionally difficult for a daughter who hasn't spoken to her mother in a few years.

While in Texas, we met with some of Brenda's dear friends and neighbors who told us more about her life and her relationships. Although Brenda lived with a lot of anguish and heartache from her past, she had so many people who loved her and showed up for her when she needed them. Her friends remember Brenda as a generous, kind, fun-loving life of the party; she loved playing games, spending time with her 2 dogs at the dog park, and socializing with neighbors. She always brought the best dish to the potluck, made the best margaritas, and helped people when they needed it. She was a good person with a lot of regrets and pain, and the hope of forgiveness in her future.

Through the process of going through her things and packing up the apartment, we realized the depth of the financial stress she was under, and that she was dealing with many additional health problems we didn't know about. She did not have health insurance or life insurance of any kind.

We were able to apply for a grant for her cremation, but the costs of travel and shipping / transporting / storage of all Brenda's belongings to Colorado are a lot. Especially when placed on the shoulders of her daughter, a single mother with 2 children of her own.

Donations to this fund will go toward the travel expenses incurred, as well as shipping of Brenda's ashes back to Colorado and storage of all her belongings for a few months until I can get back to Denver to help Crysta go through the boxes.

Together, we can help alleviate a bit of that pressure, and help ease the pain. Somewhere between "it takes a village" and "many hands make light work" we can create some help for Brenda's family to move forward. Please help in any way you can. Whether it be by sharing this to your social media, forwarding it to friends/family, or donating whatever you can. Any amount helps.

Even though there was a lot of emotional distance from many of her family members, we loved Brenda very much, we always hoped we could heal our relationships with her, and if we had known how much she was struggling, we could have helped more.

Those who knew Brenda know that she would be mortified by this fundraiser, but hopefully she can now see that she was very loved, and that her life mattered.