Cindy met her husband, Steve, on a blind date in 2004 and they married in 2006. Steve had a melanoma diagnosis in 2010 and after two surgeries was given the all clear. Steve received his metastatic melanoma diagnosis in spring of 2016 right before his youngest daughter turned 3. He passed February 4, 2017, two weeks before his 40th birthday.

Cindy is a full time elementary art teacher in Huntley's School District 158 and a part time BODi Partner. Evie,13, is involved in as many sports as her mom can drive her to including soccer, basketball, and track. She is alwasy drawing and is teaching herself to speak new languages. Harper,11, is a jack-of-all-trades including playing sports, reading and writing her own stories, drawing, and creating her own music. As a family they love to be outdoors, ride bikes, take walks, and spend time at their family's lake house. Because of Steve's love of dinosaurs, they have an extensive dinosaur collection.

"I met Gina in the waiting room of the doctors office. Our husbands both had melanoma and were seeing the same doctors. Steve had his first immunotherapy infusion when Josh was there getting his. He led us through all the ins and outs of our cancer treatments: how to get in the good graces with the nurses, what tv was the best, what chair was the most comfortable, what side effects are normal and what ones you need to call the doctor about. Even though this was our cancer journey and it would be unique, Josh was beyond helpful to make the unknown less scary. Before Josh died, and I was already a widow, I visited him and told him that he was seeing the beginning of a lifelong friendship between Gina and I. I would not go anywhere and I would be there to help Gina just like he was there to help Steve. This chance meeting in an office waiting room was the catalyst for the forming of the friendship with Gina and then down the road with Mike and Jamie. I cannot think of a better way to honor our spouses than to continue to help support those dealing with this great loss.

There was a time where after Steve died I felt like I was in a fog, waiting for the smoke to clear after my world imploded. I felt confused and dazed while I attempted to pick up the pieces of my life.The girls and I wouldn’t be where we are if it wasn’t for the help of family and friends who came in and took care of things for me. I wasn’t in a place to think about what to make for dinner or to deal with the paperwork--I was trying to help our young daughters deal with the loss of their dad and was trying to survive the day. I want to be able to take some of those things off a grieving widow’s plate so they can focus on what is important--themselves and their family. I want to take my devastating loss and turn it into something positive to make Steve proud. There were many times I said I wish I had a playbook on how to manage through life after losing a spouse. And although we can’t offer a play-by-play, we can help organize, support and offer a little bit of clarity during a very foggy time. Grief is never ending so neither should the support. Your grief will look different depending on where you are in your journey--we want to provide support that will transition with you. "