Amy Noelle (Shafer) Gerrish, 30, of South Weymouth, MA
passed away peacefully at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston on June 1,
2017, leaving a huge hole in the hearts of her family and friends. Amy was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
on May 14, 2017 and suffered an unexpected intracranial hemorrhage on May 30,
2017, which led to her passing.
Amy was born on May 2, 1987 in Hornell, NY. She graduated from Belfast Central School in
Belfast, NY in 2005, where she was an all-star athlete and active in soccer,
cheerleading and softball. She graduated
from Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA in 2007.
Amy moved to Massachusetts in 2009 and was hired as a Physical Therapy
Assistant at South Shore Hospital. Her
move to the Boston area led her to meet the love of her life on the softball
diamond, as teammates in the South Shore Hospital softball league - she was
engaged to Patrick Gerrish in 2013, and they were married in 2015. Amy thoroughly enjoyed planning and decorating,
and the coordination of her wedding was no exception - her own unique style was
incorporated into every detail, and her marriage to Pat was a shining moment in
her life. In July of 2016, Amy proudly
gave birth to their son, Luke Patrick.
She deeply loved her husband and son, and her time as a wife and a mom
fulfilled her and brought her so much joy...spending time with her boys and her
family is what made Amy most happy. She
was active in creating traditions with her family and she had so much fun
planning gifts and special moments for her loved ones, especially for holidays
and birthdays.
Amy's generous heart led her to a career focused on helping
others. She was currently employed as a
Physical Therapy Assistant at Alliance Healthcare Center in Braintree, MA, and
she was formerly employed at Marina Bay Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center in Quincy, MA, South Shore Hospital in Weymouth, MA and Jones Memorial
Hospital in Wellsville, NY. Amy was very
interested in holistic health, exercise and wellness; she was not afraid of
hard work and ambitiously pursued her training in massage therapy and
craniosacral and body work while continuing to work full time. She became a Licensed Massage Therapist and
was the owner of Orthopedic Bodywork.
Her family's pride and joy, Amy was the youngest of three,
with two older brothers who watched over her and cherished her. She was loyal and cared deeply for those who
were close to her, never hesitating to protect her loved ones and friends. Amy was vivacious and a lover of life; music
and dancing always brought fun times, and she had fond memories of attending
concerts with her family and friends.
She loved to travel, especially to Martha's Vineyard, and she
particularly found peace and happiness at the beach. Amy embraced New England life and everything
it had to offer, including becoming a Red Sox fan. She also had a creative side, which shone
through in her love of photography and art.
She had been looking forward to learning more about photography and
learning to sew and make clothing for her family.
Amy is survived by her beloved husband, Patrick, and son,
Luke, and her Basset Hound, Charlie; her parents, Keith and Kathryn Shafer of
Belfast, NY; her maternal grandmother, June Foreman of Angelica, NY; brothers
and sisters-in-law Chad and Jennifer DeRock of Hunt, NY and Joseph and Melissa
Shafer of Cuba, NY; her Massachusetts family Michael and Gayle Gerrish of
Hanover, MA and Alisson (Gerrish) and Michael O'Rourke of Martha's Vineyard and
the entire Gerrish family, who embraced and cherished her as one of their
own. Amy was adored by her nieces and
nephews, as well as many close aunts, uncles and cousins. She will be forever a hero to Hannah,
Abigale, and Lillian DeRock and Calvin and Andrew Shafer.
Amy's family is filled with gratitude for the outpouring of
love and support they have received during Amy's illness and since her
passing. Amy will be dearly missed by a
large network of family and friends, which is a true testament to the lives
that she has touched. Her time with us
has been cut painfully short, however Amy's beautiful spirit will live on
through those whom she loved, especially her 10 month old son, Luke.
Celebrations of Amy's life will take place this summer in
both Massachusetts and New York - updates will become available via the Gerrish
Strong GoFundMe page as plans are finalized.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made "In Memory of Amy
Gerrish to support the Leukemia Research Program" at Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA 02284 or via
http://www.dana-farber.org/gift and specify "Gift in Memory of Amy
Gerrish". Donations in Amy's memory
to support her family may be made via https://gofundme.com/gerrish-strong. Please contact Ali (Gerrish) O'Rourke through
the Gerrish Strong GoFundMe page with any questions or inquiries.
