Boston Children’s Hospital Details How Dedicated Wakefield Family Was to Helping Kids With Cancer

MLB player Tim Wakefield’s widow, Stacy Wakefield, continued to give back to the community as she battled the disease herself.

According to the Associated Press, the Wakefields made an annual Christmas trip to Boston’s Dana Farber Children’s Hospital to deliver presents to kids suffering from cancer with their daughter, Brianna, 18. (Stacy and Tim shared children Trevor, 20, and Brianna.)

“When Tim had passed, talking with both of them, they both still wanted to do Christmas,” Lisa Scherber, the director of patient and family programs at Dana Farber’s Jimmy Fund Clinic, told AP on Thursday, February 29. “I was like, ‘OK, we’ll see how it goes. I don’t think that’s going to be top on your mind.’ And sure enough, the second week in December they texted me and were like, ‘Can we come in?’ And here they are, they come into the Jimmy Fund Clinic with gifts for everybody.”

Scherber noted that Stacy, who was “in a very tough time in her treatment,” stayed in the background and let Brianna take charge.

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“She was so compassionate, so caring and gentle with these kids,” Scherber said of Brianna. “I know she grew up doing this, but this was the first time she was doing it without her parents. When they finished I was talking to Stacy and she was beaming. That’s really who Stacy was. She knew this was important for Brianna to do. And she struggled to get in here and make it happen.”

Scherber shared that Stacy’s legacy is “service to others.”

“She put herself last,” she shared. “She put herself in a position where everyone else’s happiness came first. When [Stacy and Tim] did things with us, they were the passionate, power couple. You could tell their hearts were filling. You couldn’t imagine them doing more.”

On Wednesday, February 28, the Wakefield family shared in a statement that Stacy had lost her battle with cancer.

“It is with deep sadness that we share that our beloved mother, daughter, sister, niece, and aunt, Stacy, passed away today at her home in Massachusetts. She was surrounded by her family and dear friends, as well as her wonderful caretakers and nurses,” they said in the statement shared via the Boston Red Sox, adding that the loss of Stacy is “unimaginable” after saying goodbye to Tim five months ago. “We will remember Stacy as a strong, loving, thoughtful and kind person, who was as down-to-earth as they come. We feel so lucky to have had her in our lives, and we take comfort in the fact that she will be reunited with Tim, the love of her life.”

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The message concluded with the Wakefields sharing their appreciation for Stacy’s “doctors, nurses and caretakers” who helped her.

“We are eternally grateful for your unmatched care and support. And to all of you who have sent well wishes over these last several months, we truly appreciate your kindness,” the statement read. “We kidney ask for privacy at this time as we try to process this profound loss.”

While Tim and Stacy did not disclose many details about their health before their death, Tim’s former teammate Curt Schilling revealed in September 2023, without the Wakefields’ permission, that Tim was diagnosed with brain cancer and Stacy was battling pancreatic cancer.

After Schilling received backlash for sharing the Wakefields’ private matter, the Boston Red Sox put out a statement that month on behalf of Tim and Stacy asking for privacy for the family as they seek treatment for an unnamed disease.

The following month, Tim, who was a pitcher for the Red Sox for 17 years, died at age 57.

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“Our hearts are broken with the loss of Tim Wakefield,” the Red Sox wrote via X in October 2023. “Wake embodied true goodness; a devoted husband, father, and teammate, beloved broadcaster, and the ultimate community leader. He gave so much to the game and all of Red Sox Nation. Our deepest love and thoughts are with Stacy, Trevor, Brianna, and the Wakefield family.”

Tim and Stacy, who tied the knot in 2002, are survived by their two children.