Services for Rachel Budzynski to be held this Saturday
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Cradled by the love and support of her family and many friends, Rachel Parrotto Budzynski bravely battled a rare form of cancer for nearly one year. She lost her fight during the evening of Monday, Oct. 29 at Nantucket Cottage Hospital where the young woman and mother succumbed to advanced neuroendocrine carcinoid cancer.

Rachel Parrotto Budzynski, right, with her husband Paul and their daughter Isabella. "We've all learned to live with uncertainty," Rachel, who lost her battle with cancer Monday evening, said of herself and her family in June.

Mrs. Budzynski, 37, who opened her business Nantucket Acupuncture in 2000, is survived by her husband Paul, a teacher at Nantucket Lighthouse School, and their two-year-old daughter Isabella. A service will be held at 1:30 p.m. at St. Paul's Church on Saturday, Nov. 3.

"I had a friendship with her and a professional relationship with her, but it affects everybody," said Dr. Mindy Levin, talking about how the community helped the Budzynskis in many ways including preparing and delivering meals to them, childcare, yardwork and grocery gift cards. "It gives people an opportunity to process their own grief."

In June, friends of Mrs. Budzynski organized a fundraiser to assist in defraying costs for her to travel to Boston for treatments at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. She had been diagnosed in January and had to take a medical leave from her work. One of the organizers and another close friend of Mrs. Budzynski is Arlene O'Reilly, who was with her in her last hours.

"This past year with Rachel has been a journey that will not be forgotten by many of us," said O'Reilly. "Rachel has touched many lives with her love as a healer, friend, sister, daughter, wife and mother. We witnessed and supported her as she met her challenges with tenacity and defiance, and ended with complete divine grace. A reminder of her way is 'Being in complete touch with each other means the absence of division between me and you. It is the absence of hurt and defense. It is freedom.' The Parrotto and Budzynski family have repeatedly given thanks for receiving so much love and support from our community. As Rachel would say, 'That's what we do here."

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The Family and Children's Services with a reference on the check to Rachel Budzynski. The donations, which are to assist Mrs. Budzynski's husband and daughter with living expenses, may be mailed to Arlene O'Reilly at 43 Miacomet Ave.,

Nantucket, Mass. 02554. I