Join Us in Caring for Ken Lee and His Family

For decades, our friend and Brookline High grad, Ken Lee, has brought joy, comfort, laughter, and love to others. His work as an animation artist on films like Ice Age and Rio has touched countless children across the world. And more recently, Ken traded in his work to bring joy and comfort to the two children that are his world, becoming a stay at home dad to his young girls, Sydney (age 8) and Cora (age 2). Ken now faces the biggest challenge of his life.

On March 1, 2025, Ken’s world was flipped upside down. After feeling ill for about 24 hours, he briefly lost his ability to speak, a sudden bout of aphasia. He was admitted to the hospital and assumed he had suffered a mild stroke. Shockingly, test results indicated Ken was actually suffering from stage 4 cancer that had spread to his brain. Specifically, Ken was diagnosed with non-smoker, non small cell metastatic lung cancer. There was nothing Ken could have done to “catch” the cancer earlier. With the exception of some lower leg pain, thought to simply be related to middle age, Ken was asymptomatic up until a lesion in the brain caused his bout of aphasia.

We, friends of Ken and his wife Shirley, are helping raise funds to support their family during this difficult time. Some areas of additional expense that they anticipate are:

Simply sending words and messages of encouragement and support mean so much to Ken and Shirley. Thanks so very much.