Colleen OConnor

Thank you to everyone who has donated and shared, we appreciate you all. The donations are going towards Ken's cremation. Nicole is still working with the Funeral/Cremation home and is still short on the funds to have that completed, but each donation has her one step closer. So again thank you! There will be a Celebration of Life to honor Ken on Saturday August 29th from 2-5:30 pm at 2065 Park Center Dr, St Paul, MN 55122. Please join us as we gather to share memories, with laughter and tears as we say goodbye to Ken. There will be light refreshments available.

Nicole and LaRiyah need help after the heartbreaking loss of Nicole’s father, Ken, who passed away on the 15th after battling lung cancer. Nicole is Colleen’s daughter and LaRiyah is her granddaughter, and right now this small family is carrying more than anyone should have to carry at once. Nicole had just moved to a new townhome across the street from Ken only a month before his passing so she could be closer and help care for him. She has been by his side through his illness, took time off work to be with him at the hospital, and is now handling his final affairs and all of the funeral and cremation details largely on her own. As the oldest child, Nicole is doing everything she can to give her dad, her hero, a proper goodbye while also caring for her daughter and trying to hold life together through her grief. Nicole is a single mom, works full-time as a pre-K teacher, and receives no child support. Ken had been helping with important everyday expenses, and without him, the financial strain has become overwhelming. Support from this fundraiser will help with funeral and cremation costs, recent moving expenses, car insurance, title transfers on the vehicles Ken left her, phone expenses so Nicole can keep managing these urgent responsibilities, and everyday bills that are now falling solely on her shoulders. It will also help Nicole keep LaRiyah in school and in the dance classes she has loved for the past three years. Nicole did not want to ask for help, so Colleen is asking on her behalf. If you are able to give, please know that any amount will help Nicole and LaRiyah stay above water during this painful time and bring Ken home with the love and dignity he deserves.