BRATTLEBORO — On Dec. 5, Hayley Cartwright's world turned upside down with the sudden death of her father, Steve.
The 17-year-old student was exceptionally close to the 47-year-old British expatriate.
With the death of the local marketing professional and popular local radio personality, whose “Brit on Bratt” segment ran for years on WTSA, the emotional loss was staggering enough.
But Cartwright, whose mother and other relatives are not in any position to take on the financial burden, has been faced with a sudden burden of adult-grade challenges in a time of grief: money.
Helping her considerably: an online crowdfunding campaign to help her raise funds for cremation and to bring her father's ashes to his native England. She wants him to have services on both sides of the Atlantic.
In addition, the funds will help Cartwright assume the day-to-day expenses, like her health insurance, that her father had provided.
The goal for the effort is $25,000. As of mid-December, more than 200 people have contributed to the fund, which has passed the $10,500 mark.
Cartwright, her father's only relative in the United States, is now faced with organizing, arranging, and paying for his funeral expenses and wrapping up his affairs - like cleaning out his apartment and planning his memorial service, which takes place Saturday, Jan. 2, at All Souls Church in West Brattleboro.
“I have a lot that I have to think about,” Cartwright said on Monday.
In addition, community members have created a site for Cartwright, her mother, and stepfather on Meal Train where volunteers can coordinate cooking of meals for the family. She says that the community at the Putney School has been helpful, though she has been out of school since her dad's death.
Cartwright is grateful for the outpouring of support - and especially for the friends who have taken initiative and offered help they think she needs without waiting for her to request it.
“I'm in such a funk,” she said. “I don't know what to say to people when they ask me [for help with specific tasks]."
Remembering the Brit on Bratt
Steve Cartwright, who lived in Brattleboro for approximately 10 years, worked as director of sales and marketing for the Holiday Inn Express at 100 Chickering Dr. and had worked in marketing and advertising sales for the Brattleboro Reformer several years ago. He originally came to the United States as a croupier after having worked on cruise ships sailing back and forth between the two countries.
Hayley Cartwright described her father as someone who was intensely passionate about his interests and one who was keenly aware of friends' well-being, working to lift spirits when down or offering professional advice and assistance - even to people he no longer worked with.
“He couldn't help himself,” she said.
And she described him in his obituary (which she also wrote) as “the consummate dog lover,” particularly of his canine companion, Biscuit, who died this past summer.
“He almost loved her as much as he loved me,” Cartwright said.
She recalled his love of people and the connections he had developed in the community. “Whenever we'd go anywhere, he would know everyone,” she said, describing the number of conversations he would have on the street.
He also loved his radio bit, she said, where he would riff on life in Brattleboro and the region with WTSA host Ian Kelley and offer listeners a “Britishism of the day” in the spirit of local cross-cultural understanding.
Cartwright said that sometime in 2016, Kelley and the Holiday Inn Express will offer additional help in the form of a fundraiser that will pay homage to her dad with two special attractions: '80s music and karaoke.
“He loved that,” she said.