Lillian “Lily” Chalko

Chalko, Lillian “Lily” at her home in Hingham, March 19, 2004. Beloved daughter of Irene (Keeley) and Charles Chalko of Hingham. Loving sister of Emily of Hingham. Dear granddaughter of Marjorie and Joseph Keeley of Portland, ME, and Virginia and Alexander Chalko of Cromwell, CT. Also survived by many aunts, uncles, and cousins. For the past 6 years, Lily had been in continuous treatment for the pediatric cancer neuroblastoma. She was treated at hospitals in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, but was especially fond of her long term caregivers in Boston. Lily was a 4th grade student at Plymouth River School in Hingham. She accompanied her class on their annual 3 day Cape Cod field trip in September, where she slept in a bunkhouse, hiked in the dunes, and sang sea shanties around the campfire. Although she did not attend school regularly, 3 weeks before her death she was happy to join her class on a field trip to the Museum of Science. Her teacher and class continuously supported her with notes of encouragement. During summers throughout her life, she visited with her grandparents at their Maine lake cottage. She learned to swim, picked blueberries, and baked her first pie there. She made summer plans all year long. Despite long years of sometimes painful treatment, she did not view herself as a patient or allow her medical routine to interfere with normal childhood experiences. She learned to ride a bike, and enjoyed play dates and sleepovers with her friends. She used the planning of happy outings to tolerate the tedium of her medical therapy. She enjoyed taking friends to Dave & Busters in Providence, and after an initial period of redeeming points for small trinkets, decided to save her credits for a really big prize. She had accumulated 19,000 game points on her card. Lily looked ahead. At the time of her death, she had carefully prepared Easter baskets and made arrangements for her sisters birthday at the end of April. She would have been 10 on April 26th. Relatives and friends are respectfully invited to attend the Funeral Mass in Saint Paul’s Church, Hingham at 10 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of Lily may be made to Children’s Hospital Trust,138 Harvard St.,Brookline, MA 02446.