Support for the Boyle-Kammer Family

As a sister (Shannon) and friend (Rebecca) of the Boyle-Kammers, we’ve set up this fund to give you a way to offer help and support to this wonderful, amazing family we all love so dearly and so deeply. Know that anything you can offer will be hugely appreciated and warmly acknowledged.

David Kammer, a wonderful man of extraordinary gifts, an exceptional husband and father, died suddenly in the wee hours of this past Sunday morning, May 14, 2023. He left behind his wife of 24 years, Brigid Boyle, and three beautiful children--Andrew, 21, Annie, 20, and Park, 16.

This is an unbelievable loss. More unbelievable because it is yet another staggering blow to a family who has already sustained enormous sadness.

This family has gone through too much. The death of their young son Will was followed by years of more than their share of loss, with trauma and grief a too common companion.

In the last few years the challenges have been unrelenting.

Just weeks before the pandemic began, David’s corporate position was eliminated as part of an organizational restructuring. His search for a new job continued for over two years, while he and Brigid worked to keep the family afloat with Andrew and Annie in college at the time.

With David’s lack of income and because of nearly a decade of costly legal complications in the settlement of his mother’s estate, the family found itself unavoidably in debt. Given David’s abilities as an astute financial manager and as a person of great integrity, this combination of challenging events was a humbling drain on his emotions and energy.

With David now in a new and satisfying professional position for a little over a year, he and Brigid had been working hard to execute a long-term strategy to get out from underneath the financial difficulties of the past years. His sudden death has turned everything upside down and inside out.

As a grief counselor who works mostly with parents whose children have died, Brigid is only too well aware of the extraordinary emotional capacity that will be required of her going forward in these next days and months. She knows that she needs to be careful—with her clients and with herself—as she balances the needs of her family with re-engaging with her clients. This too is likely to have a financial impact on her family.

Though Andrew graduates from Lehigh University in just a few days, Annie has another two years to complete her education at St. Lawrence University. Park will start college as Annie begins her senior year.

Your donations to this fundraiser will help with a multitude of family financial obligations as yet unmet, with expenses related to the event of David’s death, with the education of the kids, and in helping this family to keep body and soul together.

Please give. Brigid, Andrew, Annie, and Park need you.

(Brigid told us that asking for help in this way is the hardest and most humbling thing she has ever had to do—and that’s saying a lot.)

Your donation will send her and the kids a loving message of support—there truly is a world of people ready to lift up and carry this family in its time of need.

And please do share news of this fund with your friends and community. Let us know if you have any questions. We are so grateful for any help you can offer.