SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES

Ron and Don Nation helps foster family raise $18,000 to bury ‘super Mom’

Jun 5, 2017, 3:54 PM | Updated: Jun 6, 2017, 3:18 pm

UPDATE: Ron and Don Show listeners helped raise $18,000 over the last 24 hours to help pay for Sarah’s funeral costs and other fees.

ORIGINAL STORY

David from Maple Valley contacted the Ron and Don Show about Sarah, a foster WonderMOM who took in at-risk teenagers for the past 20 years.

In all, she helped 40 kids – who call her a “saint.”

Sarah had been in hospice recently, fighting several life-threatening illnesses, including COPD, CHF (congestive heart failure), kidney failure, and diabetes. She passed away unexpectedly Sunday, at just 54 years old. Now David is raising money to provide Sarah for a proper burial.

RELATED: Snoqualmie Tribe helps out King County sheriff cause

Some have suggested that Sarah should be cremated, because it costs far less. However, those close to her know that’s not what she wanted after living a difficult life. She told her kids she never wanted to be “set on fire” again.

When she was young, her father attempted to light her on fire. After growing up in an orphanage, she spent the rest of her life helping foster kids who also faced difficult circumstances, including the “hard to place” girls within the foster system who weren’t “desirable” or had behavioral issues.

She legally adopted six children from foster care, and was still in touch with 30 other foster kids – who still called her “mom” to this day.

Sarah gave everything and leaves behind expenses and bills. Friends and family hope to raise enough money to bury Sarah in a plot next to her husband – which is expected to cost around $8,000. Any extra money would be given to her “kids.” That extra money will help the eldest child return to work after being her caretaker, and continue to raise her youngest child.

Over $4,700 has been raised on GoFundMe page so far, with a goal of $10,000. Let’s help give Sarah the memorial she deserves.

Visit her GoFundMe to contribute to her memorial fund.

Sign up for the daily KIRO Radio Rundown sent directly to your inbox.

Caitlin Abrams, who became popular on TikTok for her grave cleaning videos, scrapes away moss and l...

Associated Press

A Vermont woman scrubs grime from gravestones and researches who is buried there

RUPERT, Vt. (AP) — Carrying a large pump spray bottle and a small, sturdy brush, Caitlin Abrams stood before two starkly contrasting graves in a modest cemetery in western Vermont. Overcast skies hung low over a nearby hillside in full autumn color. Last year, Abrams had delicately cleaned the tombstone of Mary Bailey, who died […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

What to know as 6 women testify in Russell Brand rape and sexual assault trial in London

LONDON (AP) — Six women who accuse Russell Brand of sexually assaulting and raping them in separate instances have described during a London trial their encounters with the British actor and comedian. The women, who don’t know each other, allege they were assaulted by Brand between 1999 and 2009 in locations including workplaces, a hotel […]

1 hour ago

FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, examines a prototype of a driverless vehicle during...

Associated Press

Ukraine’s strikes on Russian data centers disrupt key services and derail AI research

Russia prides itself on its digital advances — from an extensive e-commerce services sector to ambitious plans for developing artificial intelligence. But now, some of the key data centers at the heart of its technical prowess have been knocked out by Ukrainian drone attacks in the 4 1/2-year-old full-scale invasion, suffering damage that could take […]

2 hours ago

Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, speaks to supporters, Thursday, Oct....

Associated Press

Ashley Hinson shows Republicans’ midterm balancing act as Trump heads to Iowa to boost turnout

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — After Ashley Hinson dropped off her boys at school earlier this month, she saw the initials “DJT” flash on her phone. “’Ashley, it’s your favorite president,’” Iowa’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate recently recounted to an audience of her supporters. “That’s how he introduced himself.” She had had a more […]

2 hours ago

France's President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during the "Bpifrance Inno Generation (BIG) ev...

Associated Press

As riots overshadow Macron’s final months in office, presidential hopefuls jockey to succeed him

PARIS (AP) — Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, has entered the final stretch of his decade-long presidency as France faces a wave of intense protests, with little sign he can prevent a candidate from the political extremes from succeeding him. On the eve of a major protest planned for Oct. 17, he was photographed at a […]

2 hours ago

In this photo taken with a smartphone, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Deb Haaland answers questio...

Associated Press

In New Mexico governor’s race, Deb Haaland’s historic bid tests Democrats’ political hold

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — If Deb Haaland wins New Mexico’s race for governor this year, she’ll make history as the first Native American woman to lead a state. But first she has to convince New Mexicans that they should keep Democrats in charge. The state persistently ranks near the bottom nationally on poverty, crime and […]

2 hours ago

Ron and Don Nation helps foster family raise $18,000 to bury ‘super Mom’