Tricia Connelly Family Benefit Fund

Tricia Connelly was a lot of things to a lot of people. She was a daughter, sister, aunt, friend, but her most joyous and proud title was that of mother. In the four short years Tricia was physically mother to her twins, Casey and Riley, she carried more love for these two little babies then some people see in a lifetime. She had honed her mothering and nurturing abilities while helping to raise and care for her 15 nieces and nephews. There was never a birthday party, school event, or special day that she missed. Her two daughters are the luckiest girls in the world to have been cared for and loved by such a remarkable women. She was strong yet sensitive, stubborn yet reasonable, and could bring a smile to anyone's faces just by walking into a room. Her laugh was contagious and these traits have all been carried down to her two girls.

Casey and Riley Connelly are four year old twins who will be entering into Kindergarten in the fall. They will have to learn to deal with Mommy being absent from a lot of firsts. They will miss their mother terribly as will the rest of her family. But they will do their best, just as their mother did as she battled terrible bouts of lung cancer with her contagious smile still ever present on her face. She endured so much pain and yet never let her girls see it. She protected them and made sure that her girls lives were as normal as possible as she fought and fought against this terrible disease. She is an admiration to all of those in her family, especially her two sweet baby girls.