My mother, Kathleen Hennessy, passed away at the age of 64, after a long and devastating battle with Lewy Body Dementia. She was only 58 years old when she was diagnosed.

My mother was one of the most loving and compassionate people I have ever known. She loved being with family, spending weekends boating with my father, and feeling connected to nature. She found joy in helping others whenever she could and spent much of her life caring for both people and animals in need. Over the years, she rescued countless animals and never hesitated to stand up for anyone she felt needed kindness, protection, or support.

She was deeply empathetic, fiercely loving, and incredibly strong. Long before she became sick herself, she devoted 30 years of her life to her career as a CNA, while also caring for both of her parents until their passing. Taking care of the people she loved was simply who she was.

Her decline after diagnosis was rapid and heartbreaking. Within the first year, she had already begun losing mobility and developed severe hallucinations, tremors, and confusion. As the disease progressed, she slowly lost her independence, her mobility, and eventually her ability to communicate entirely. In her final years, she became completely bedridden. Lewy Body Dementia is a cruel and merciless disease, but through all of it, my mother remained gentle, resilient, and unbelievably strong.

I became the primary caretaker for both of my parents when I was just 15 years old. As an only child with no outside support, I've spent nearly a decade helping care for them physically, emotionally, and financially. I had no choice but to put my education aside in order to support my family full-time and help manage my parents’ care, appointments, and daily needs.

Throughout her illness, my father, Raymond Hennessy, remained devoted to her. He loved my mother deeply and spent as much time caring for and visiting her as he physically could, despite struggling with serious heart problems and work-related injuries of his own. Watching the woman he loved slowly disappear to this disease was devastating for him. He passed from a heart attack in March of 2025. I used the last of my savings to arrange his funeral and final expenses because my parents had nothing prepared. While grieving the loss of my father, it became my responsibility to navigate every decision, honor their wishes, and continue caring for my mother as her condition worsened. She passed away peacefully on the 24th of May.

The last several years have been heartbreaking, exhausting, and overwhelming in ways that are difficult to fully put into words. Losing both of my parents within such a short period of time has left me grieving not only their deaths, but the loss of the life and future we once had together. I do not have siblings, and my remaining relatives are estranged and have offered no support during this time. At only 24 years old, I am now facing all of this entirely on my own.

I am asking for help covering my mother’s funeral and burial expenses so she can be laid to rest beside my father with the dignity and peace they both deserve. We are planning a small graveside service, and the funds raised will go toward her burial plot, the opening and closing of the grave, funeral home expenses, and other final costs associated with her arrangements. The cost of both of my parents’ final expenses has reached nearly $30,000, with my mother’s portion totaling approximately $15,000.

Any donation, share, or kind message would mean more to me than I can express. Thank you for helping me give my mother a peaceful resting place beside the man who loved her so deeply.

Thank you,

Sierra Hennessy