{"id":28165,"date":"2021-02-01T16:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/framinghamsource.com\/?p=28165"},"modified":"2021-02-01T16:37:44","modified_gmt":"2021-02-01T21:37:44","slug":"video-framingham-disability-commission-honors-late-co-founder-karen-foran-dempsey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/framinghamsource.com\/index.php\/2021\/02\/01\/video-framingham-disability-commission-honors-late-co-founder-karen-foran-dempsey\/","title":{"rendered":"VIDEO: Framingham Disability Commission Honors Late Co-Founder Karen Foran Dempsey"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Luke Canavan<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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FRAMINGHAM – At its first meeting in 2021, the Framingham Disability Commission met virtually to honor their late co-founder Karen Foran Dempsey, who died on December 24, 2020 at the age of 54.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dempsey first co-founded the Framingham Disability Commission back in 2002 in hopes of helping other people with disabilities such as herself. She was also elected to serve on the Framingham School Committee in 2019, representing the district where her two twin sons attended both primary and middle school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The virtual meeting last Wednesday, January 27, was led by Commission chair Richard Finlay and attended by coworkers, supporters, and friends of Dempsey. Among them was Jeffrey L. Dougan, Assistant Director for Community Services at the Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really just want to extend MODs condolences to [her husband] Mark, to the Commission, to Framingham,\u201d said Dougan. \u201cShe was an ally, an advocate, and she\u2019ll be sorely missed. We lost an icon in the disability community with the loss of Karen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many members of the Framingham Disability Commission also shared their sentiments for Dempsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cKaren was a very dear person to me. I learned a lot from her. I miss her so much,\u201d said Commissioner Sheryl Goldstein. \u201cI am going to continue her fight as much as [I] can throughout Framingham.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have known Karen for over 25 years. I have known her as a volunteer [and] a board member. She\u2019s been a board officer, clerk, chair\u2026 I\u2019ve known her as a coworker, and a fellow commissioner since 2008,\u201d said Commissioner Treasurer Rose Quinn. \u201cThrough all those times, she was exactly the same person, as she was a volunteer and board chair, and throughout all of that, she was always a very good friend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was a soldier that was a real trooper, that could help us win a fight and make our voices heard,\u201d said Commissioner Andrew Cummings \u201cOn behalf of my family, we wish you all the best, and our condolences to your loss.\u201d Cummings then added, \u201cLet\u2019s keep on rolling with it for Karen until we cannot fight anymore!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vice Chair Susan Santone then chimed in with a personal anecdote about Dempsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy favorite story was the time she came out of Stop & Shop, and she had pushed the button to open the door on her van to have the wheelchair [ramp] come out,\u201d started Santone. \u201cWhat she didn\u2019t know was some man, which I believe was in a Mercedes, parked in the access aisle, and her ramp got stuck on that person\u2019s car. Karen, [although] many people would\u2019ve been angry, saw the comedy in it. She just said, \u2018Welp, I guess he\u2019ll never do that again, will he?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ron Rego, Director of Media Services for the City of Framingham created a video tribute of Dempsey. The video aired during the Framingham Disability Commission meeting and is attached to this report courtesy of Rego & The Government Channel<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rego talked about first meeting Dempsey at the weekly Framingham Selectmen meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe began collaborating on some programming, and really became great friends,\u201d said Rego. \u201c[She] taught me a lot about how to think about making the world inclusive, and seeing problems that many don\u2019t consider if you\u2019re not facing them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dempsey\u2019s sister, Janet Leombruno, also spoke about the things she learned from Dempsey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere was something about her way that she could go in and be tough,\u201d said Leombruno, who was elected to the City Council on the same 2019 ballot Dempsey was elected to the School Committee \u201cShe would say, \u2018Nothing about us, without us,\u2019 and \u2018Don\u2019t be an afterthought, be a forethought.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As made clear by the fond memories and praise shared by many, Karen Foran Dempsey was beloved by both the Framingham and Massachusetts community. She will be dearly missed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A high school scholarship has been recently set up in Karen Dempsey\u2019s name<\/a><\/strong>, which aims to provide financial support for post-secondary education to one well-deserving student with a physical disability. The scholarship currently accepts donations, which can be made by visiting City Hall Systems online.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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