Friends and family,

First off, thank you for taking the time to learn more about the unfortunate state of our parent’s current housing situation. Your support is extremely appreciated and we know we couldn’t do this without the help of our community.

For those of you who don’t know the details, our brother, Kerry Jr., had a dream of building a home for our parents (Kerry Sr. and Patricia Benson) that they could grow old in. Despite living in their home on 21st street in NE Salem for 52 and a half years, the upkeep of the large backyard and concrete staircases throughout the house had him worried for their safety as they continued to age.

After several trials and tribulations, our brother successfully purchased the lot next to his own house and within a few years, his dream of building them a home had come to fruition. The house was structured for dual living, in case our parents ever needed help down the road. Shortly after our parents moved into the new home next door, Kerry Jr.’s 27 year old son, was senselessly killed. While our family attempted to process and grieve over his tragic death, three short months later, our brother was then diagnosed with Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer and made his way to heaven on August 4th, 2021.

One of Kerry’s biggest concerns and final wishes was for our parents to continue living in the house he had meticulously designed for them. Kerry made sure this was stated in the trust he created and his wife at the time, also created and signed a lifetime rental agreement ensuring that they would remain safely and securely in their home and had nothing to worry about.

Unfortunately, a little more than two years later, the promises have been broken and our brother’s former wife (who is on her way to get re-married in Hawaii), three days before Christmas, has informed our parents that she will be selling the house, putting it on the market February 1st, leaving our parents with nowhere to go and completely going against her late husband’s final wish.

As senseless of an act this is, our parents have begun to seek legal action and we are therefore raising money for them to be able to do so.

To read more about the entire story and all that our family has been through within the last few years, please go to https://kylabenson.com/2023/12/23/60-year-old-mans-dying-wish-for-his-80-year-old-parents/ to read the post written by our niece, Kyla (Kerry Jr.‘s daughter).

Thank you for your donations, prayers, and love during this stressful time, we truly appreciate it.

God bless,

Kyra Dammarell and Kim Morrow