Help with headstone & memorial to honor my mom & my sister.

Cancer. Such an ugly word. But a sad reality for almost every member of my close and extended family, and myself. It's just a fact you must live with when your family carries 3 cancer genes.

I lost my dad, JD, to a rare cancer called cholangiocarcinoma in 2015. At that time, my mom, Kathy, purchased a double headstone for their side by side burial plots and had it engraved.

Sep 16, 2024, I lost my mom to pancreatic cancer.

Weeks later, still mourning and raw with pain, I lost my sister and best friend, Mary Jane, to ovarian cancer on Oct 12, 2024.

Mom was buried next to my dad, as she wanted. My sister wanted to be buried in her plot that was next to my parents. But someone who had no regard for her or her wishes stepped in before most of our family even knew she had passed. My best friend was cremated in one final, spiteful act. I've not even been able to bury her remains with my parents. I try to remind myself, her soul, her beautiful spirit, is free and at peace; and that's all that truly matters.

My mom's funeral is paid for but her headstone is unfinished. The existing double stone still needs to be engraved with the date of her death. There are also 2 small stones that still need to be added. The first is a stone with the name "Kathy" engraved on it to match the one my dad has with "JD" on it. The second stone would sit between them with their wedding date engraved on it. This is what my mom wanted. She had no idea how much funeral costs had increased since 2015 and we simply couldn't add those things on at the time.

As for my sister, there is, sadly, no grave that requires a stone. But I'd still like to honor her life. Mary Jane had a degree in forestry and the Smoky Mountains National Park was her favorite place on Earth. Even her home was nestled in a mountainside and she could often be found walking through the woods, at home among the trees. I'd like to plant an Oak tree in her memory and place an inscribed bronze plaque below it. Unfortunately, this is not allowed within the national park. So I am still in search of the perfect place.

Completing my mother's headstone and smaller grave markers, and completing the memorial tree and plaque for my sister is my birthday wish this year, and I'm just hours away from my birthday as I write this. But the economy has not been kind to me in recent years. I'm a disabled, single mom to an amazing adult child with special needs just trying to support us both the best that I can. Every effort I've made since fall to save and allocate money for these memorial expenses has been interrupted by the simple tasks of paying bills, buying groceries, etc. So I'm doing what I never imagined myself doing: swallowing my pride and showing my vulnerability by asking for help. My mom and my sister would never let pride stand in the way of doing something for someone they loved; and I shouldn't either. So I'm humbly asking for help from my family, my friends, past co-workers, acquaintances, and friends of my mom and my sister, and even strangers if they should feel so inclined. Please help me make my birthday wish a reality.

With my sincerest thanks and appreciation,

Becky