Expenses following the death of Maribeth Smith

The last two years were very difficult for my sister Melanie's family. Melanie lost her job due to the pandemic, but then our mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, in addition to her ongoing struggle with bipolar disorder, and Melanie soon had to provide 24/7 care to mom in their home. This was challenging for a mom of three school-aged children. During this time also, Melanie's children suffered several medical emergencies, their house flooded, their air condtioner has broken twice, they had to replace their car engine, and many other adversities, besides the significant medical expenses for our mother's care.

Mom passed away this week, and we are devastated by her loss. Additionally, the loss of mom's income significantly affects my sister's family's ability to pay the existing bills for medical care and home expenses, including the aforementioned air conditioner replacement, especially after paying for the funeral expenses. My sister's family needs some help to cover these expenses and give her time to make arrangements and deal with mom's death before she can begin looking for work.

Please help my sister's family arrange to have our mother cremated, and help them stay afloat while they figure out how to make ends meet in their new normal. We are missing our mom so much; she was the most generous, kind, and amazing woman I've ever known. In the spirit of our mother's generosity, please help support Melanie's family in this difficult time.